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NDA Attack: Kaduna, Borno Barracks Remain Porous
In spite of the recent invasion of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) at Afaka, Kaduna State, there is relatively easy access for visitors into military formations in the state through various alternative routes..
Kaduna State has one of the highest military formations in the country.
Gunmen had attacked the Afaka campus of the NDA – Nigeria’ foremost military university – last Tuesday, killing two officers and abducting one Major Christopher Datung.
Another officer was hospitalised within the institution as a result of gunshot wounds.
The bandits had reportedly reached out to the military, demanding N200m ransom for the release of the abducted officer.
In a statement on Wednesday by Director, Defence Information, Major General Benjamin Sawyerr, the Defence Headquarters said it had constituted a board of enquiry on the invasion.
The military said it had started compiling the names of errant personnel to be court-martialed while efforts were ongoing to rescue Datung.
The Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, had also visited the NDA on Wednesday, saying “this madness must stop.”
Following the Tuesday attack, many Nigerians had taken to social media to express anger over affront by bandits, who have become emboldened having shut down a Nigerian Air Force jet earlier in July.
The military has a heavy presence in Kaduna with no fewer than six military formations in the city. The military formations include Jaji Military Cantonment; 1 Mech. Division Headquarters, Nigerian Army, Kaduna; New Barracks, otherwise known as ‘Kotoko’ Barracks; Old Site of the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna; Kalanpazi Barracks (Artillery Regiment) and the Nigerian Air Force Base.
One of our correspondents, who visited some of the military formations on Friday, observed that apart from their main entrances, other routes leading to the facilities were relatively porous.
At the Jaji Military Cantonment, located between Zaria and Kaduna town, in the Igabi Local Government Area of the state, vehicles were subjected to careful scrutiny before being allowed access through the main entrance.
However, the unfenced back of the cantonment appeared vulnerable as people gained entry with little or no check by military men.
At the 1 Mech. Division Headquarters, Nigerian Army, there were routine security checks at the entrance, despite the ongoing massive road construction work.
Security was tight at the main entrance of 1 Div House, one of the oldest barracks in the state, housing the Dalet Barracks, where the Central Ammunition Depot is located; but visitors could access the barracks through the Mammy Market and Ugwan Gwari axis.
Similarly, at the ‘New Barracks’, better known as ‘Kotoko barracks, soldiers manned the pedestrian gate opposite the Federal Secretariat, Kawo, in the Kaduna North Local Government Area.
However, one of our correspondents discovered that the barracks, housing many military formations as well as schools, could be easily accessed from the host community, Hayin Banking, as well as via the Nnamdi Azikiwe Western Expressway by the new Panteka spare market.
This barracks also extended to the Old Site of the Nigerian Defence Academy, now being used for the training of the Direct Short Service Course officer, officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission as well as the NDA Post Graduate School.
At the main gate of the NDA Old Site from the Ungwan Sanu axis, security checks were thorough as soldiers checked visitors and residents before allowing them to enter the facility also Known as ‘Ribadu Cantonment.’
But it was noticed that the barracks was accessible through the host communities – Ungwan Shanu and Kurmin- Mashi.
Also, at the 44 Army Reference Hospital, opposite the Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House, in the heart of the city, fierce-looking soldiers were sighted at both gates to the hospital and the barracks carrying out stop and search of vehicles.
The barracks, though fenced, was porous and could be accessed through the host Badiko community.
As usual, at the Kalanpazi Barracks, where the Artillery Regiment is located, there was a sentry directly opposite the Major Kachia Road near the St. Gerard Catholic Hospital, Kakuri, Kaduna. Soldiers manned the main gate, checking vehicles into the formation.
Although the permanent site of the NDA was attacked on Tuesday, there was nothing unusual about the security at the gate leading into the expansive land the academy occupies.
There are two gates into the institution – one opposite the old camp of the Sterling Construction Company while the other is directly on the road leading to the Kaduna International Airport.
Anyone passing through the first gate was requested to produce identification cards before being allowed into the institution. The other gate had been shut down following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.