Joint Forces Yet To Find kidnapped Nigerian Army Officer 8 Days After NDA Attack

By John Ikani 

Security forces are still searching for Major Datong, who was abducted by gunmen during an attack on the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) eight days ago, authorities of the instruction have stated.

The gunmen, who broke the fence of the institution, had headed in different parts of the premises and caught the officers on duty off guard.

Two officers lost their lives in the attack, while the fate of the kidnapped officer delicately hangs in the balance.

NDA authorities which hitherto remained silent on the fate of the abductee, said in a statement yesterday that they had received encouragement from the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt-General Faruk Yahaya in their efforts to ensure the safe return of the officer.

The Academy’s Public Relations Officer, Major Bashir Jajira, in a statement, following the visit of the Army Chief to the Academy, said he commended the Commandant NDA, the GOC 1 Division, the Air Officer Commanding Air Training Command and heads of other security agencies in Kaduna State in the ongoing efforts to ensure the safe return of the abducted officer.

The statement added the Chief of Army Staff provided six gun trucks and other numerous operational enablers to the Academy to enhance it’s security and environs.

What you should know

With all military formations and institutions present in the state, Kaduna has perhaps been the worst hit by the nefarious activities of bandits and kidnappers in recent times.

According to the official statistics by Governor Nasir El-Rufai administration, the vicious marauders killed at least 525 innocent lives, kidnapped 1,723 between January and June 2021.

The NDA campus is opposite the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka where bandits abducted 39 students on March 11, 2021. The bandits had demanded N500m to free the captives.

Beyond Kaduna, kidnapping has become a sordid menace and a lucrative ‘enterprise’ in Nigeria, as the West African nation’s security situation worsens.

Many Nigerians are disappointed in the regime of the President Muhammadu Buhari who rode to power on the heels of combating the security challenges plaguing the country in 2015, but the situation seems to have been aggravated in the last six years.