ACF: Attack on NDA, a Desecration of Military Institution of High Repute

• Says ‘what else do we need to show that our national security system is running on reverse gear?’

Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has condemned the attack on Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in Kaduna, saying it is embarrassing that “the factory where all Nigerian military officers are produced has been invaded and desecrated.”
Dare devil bandits, terrorising Kaduna state, in the early hours of Tuesday, invaded the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in Kaduna, killing two officers while one was abducted.
Another officer was said to have sustained injuries from gunshots and was receiving medical attention at the institution’s health centre.
The statement signed by the spokesman of the forum, Mr, Emmanuel Yawe, said it was sad that ordinary street bandits will invade a military institution of such high national and international repute, outwit the security system in the academy, kill officers and take one away to an unkown destination.
“The ACF, first and foremost commiserates with the families of those who lost their lives during today’s (Tuesday) attack on the Nigerian Defence Academy.
“These gallant men have paid the supreme price for Nigeria, their motherland. We hope their sacrifices are not in vain.
“The Forum is praying that the abducted officer will be rescued and the criminals who abducted him brought to book”, Yawe said.
Yawe said the latest security breach was another embarrasment to the forum.
According to him, “The NDA is a proud momumemt of the efforts of the first generation of northerners who fought hard to bring development to the north; the likes of Muhammadu Ribadu, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Sir Ahmadu Bello who brought the Institution to Kaduna.
“They did not bring it here for our generation to hand it over to bandits or whatever we call them.
“This is an institution that is not only a pride of the north but a pride of Nigeria. Many African countries train their military officers here”.
The ACF lamented that, “It is really sad that ordinary street bandits will invade a military institution of such high national and international repute, outwit the security system and men there, kill officers and take one away to an unkown destination.”
Yawe stressed that, “the NDA is a proud reminder of the achievements of our fathers” and wondered why the present generation of northerners will seat and watch as these legacies are destroyed.
“We of the ACF have said it again and again that there is everything seriously wrong with the management of our security.
“The other day a Nigerian Airforce fighter aircraft was shot down by the so called bandits.
“Today the factory where all Nigerian military officers are produced has been invaded and desecrated.
“What else do we need to show that our national security system is running on reverse gear?, the forum asked.
NDA, a Military University based in Kaduna, occupies a vast land in Afaka, along the road to the Kaduna international airport. The military institution trains the officer corps of the Nigerian Army, Navy and Air Force. Established on 5 February 1964 in response to the defence needs of independent Nigeria to train officers for the Armed Forces of Nigeria, it was originally known as the Royal Military Forces Training College (RMFTC). After independence in 1960, it became known as the Nigerian Military Training College before it was renamed Nigerian Defence Academy.