Military installations in Nigeria are usually well-guarded, at least as far as the untrained civilian eyes can see. The sentries, visible at the gates, always signify the pride with which the armed forces guard their facilities and they make this point all too clear when civilians try to gain access for any reason.
The routine stop and search at the gates, the watchtowers, and strict rules regarding entry and conducts within military premises all gave a sense of orderliness, strictness, and alertness.
All of these displays turned out to be no more than showmanship last week, as a gang of bandits with no known military training, infiltrated Nigeria’s foremost military university; Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), in Kaduna state.
Two officers were killed, and one other officer; Major Christopher Datong was abducted by the unknown assailants. That gunmen could gain entry into the highly guarded NDA to kill senior military officers and abduct another, without being repelled is utterly shameful.
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The facility, which has all units of the armed forces represented; Army, Airforce, and Navy, could not even kill any of the unknown gunmen, who ridiculed the security apparatus of what should be one of the safest places in the country. If they did, nothing of such was indicated in the press statement following the attack, where NDA admitted, “The security architecture of the Nigerian Defence Academy was compromised early this morning by unknown gunmen who gained access into the residential area within the Academy in Afaka.”
It was further stated that the Academy in collaboration with the 1Division Nigerian Army and Air Training Command and other security agencies in Kaduna state, had commenced pursuit of the unknown gunmen within the general area with a view to tracking them and rescue the abducted personnel. However, one week later, no good news has emanated in rescuing the abducted soldier, and equally important, apprehending the criminals responsible.
The attack, which not only exposes the severe weaknesses in Nigeria’s security architecture, has also shown to the average Nigerian that they are on their own. If the military continues to be a soft target for bandits who are not known to be trained in warfare, then there is little hope for the rest of the country.
That gunmen could gain entry into the highly guarded NDA to kill senior military officers and abduct another, without being repelled is utterly shameful
As this paper reported, the so-called bandits have murdered at least one army general, while a number of senior military officers and several soldiers have been brutally killed at different times. A fighter jet is also on record as one of the material casualties suffered by Nigeria’s military formation, which appears clueless as to how to contain the security crisis.
Earlier, reports of attacks by bandits on Nigerian armed forces had revolved around highway ambushes, but it has now moved to daring killings and abduction of military personnel, right in their own facility.
Some of the brazen attacks by so-called bandits on the military include last month’s killing of Hussaini Ahmed, a major general who was once Provost Marshal of the Nigerian Army, along the Lokoja-Abuja highway. Also last month, gunmen suspected to be bandits killed seven soldiers and injured five others after ambushing troops of the Forward Operational Base and that of the Special Operational Command operating in Kebbi.
It was also in July that an Alpha Jet Aircraft of the Nigerian Airforce was shot down by what was described as “intense enemy fire from Armed Bandits”, although the pilot of the Aircraft, Flight Lieutenant Abayomi Dairo successfully ejected from the Aircraft.
In June, it was reported that suspected bandits invaded the military barracks of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna State, and carted away a herd of cattle. There has, however, not been any confirmation from the army on the incident.
In April, the Nigerian Army buried 12 soldiers killed by bandits in Konshisha Local Government Area of Benue State, whose state governor also once claimed to have been attacked while visiting his farm.
According to data from Nigeria Security Tracker, which was reported by this paper, there have been 2,943 abduction cases and 5,800 deaths due to insecurity between January and June 2021. As millions of Nigerians remain helpless in the face of growing insecurity, the country’s armed forces are also increasingly becoming victims of the daring criminals called bandits.
Ironically, the NDA that was infiltrated is located along Airport Road, Afaka, in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, close to the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka where 39 students were abducted by bandits on March 11, 2021. Perhaps, if the military had taken the attack within its neighbourhood as a signal to be at alert, the brazen and embarrassing attack of last week may not have happened.
