The Nigerian Army has confirmed the killing of two of its officers and abduction of a senior officer at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), in Afaka, Kaduna State.
A statement by the Academy’s spokesperson, Bashir Jajira, a major, said unknown gunmen carried out the attack.
PREMIUM TIMES had reported how suspected bandits attacked the Academy and perpetrated the dastardly act.
According to witnesses, the bandits came in a large number in the early hours of Tuesday.
Aside from the officers killed and kidnapped, some others sustained gunshot injuries and are currently receiving treatment at the NDA hospital.
The attack on the military facility comes amidst heightened insecurity in the North-west with Kaduna State at the epicenter.
Hundreds of students have been kidnapped in various schools across Kaduna State in the past five months as the state governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has stood his ground on his no-ransom-payment policy.
Recently, there were intelligence reports that Boko Haram flags were sighted at the Afaka Forest close to NDA and Kaduna Airport.
The Afaka campus of NDA was officially opened in February 2007. The old site in Angwan Kanawa in Kaduna town is now for postgraduate and short service cadets.
In the statement by the NDA, security agents are on the pursuit of the gunmen.
Read the full statement below:
“PRESS RELEASE
SECURITY BREACH OF NIGERIAN DEFENCE ACADEMY ARCHITECTURE
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. During the unfortunate incident, we lost two personnel and one was abducted.
The Academy, in collaboration with the 1Division Nigerian Army and Air Training Command, as well as other security agencies in Kaduna State, has since commenced pursuit of the unknown gunmen within the general area, with a view to tracking them and rescue the abducted personnel.
The NDA community and Cadets are safe in the Academy. We assure the general public that this unknown gunmen would soon be apprehended and the abducted personnel rescued.
Bashir Muhd Jajira
Major
Academy Public Relations Officer
24 August 2021”
Source: Premium Times