The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has expressed shock over the attack on the Nigerian Defence Academy yesterday in which two Army officers were killed and another abducted.
The body said the invasion and desecration of the factory where all Nigerian military officers are produced is an indication that the national security system is running on reverse gear.
Emmanuel Yawe, ACF’s National Publicity Secretary, said the founding fathers of Northern Nigeria who brought NDA to Kaduna, did not bring it for the present generation to hand it over to bandits.
He said: “The Forum is praying that the abducted officer will be rescued and the criminals who abducted him brought to book. The latest security breach is another embarrassment to the ACF. The NDA is a proud monument 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.
“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. 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 unknown destination.
“Is that how our present generation of northerners will sit and watch as these legacies are destroyed? Are we waiting for the bandits to attack Aso Rock Villa, where the seat of power is before this government takes banditry and insurgency as a serious matter?
“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?”
Also, Northern elders under the aegis of Coalition of Northern Elders for Peace and Development (CNEPD), have attributed the attack to failure of Nigeria’s intelligence network, and demanded immediate sack of the NSA, Monguno.
The group in a statement by its national coordinator, Zana Goni, sought for an in-depth review of the entire security architecture, as the entire security chiefs must bear the blame of the attack.
“The fact that a fortified military institution could be so easily invaded by armed militias without resistance has left us with the conclusion that no part of this country and no citizen, no matter his or her status, is safe again. The attack is a slap on the Nigerian intelligence community and the armed forces,” the group said.
The Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) described the invasion as shameful and a very frightening development. National Secretary of YCE, Dr Kunle Olajide, said the development further showed that nowhere is safe in the country anymore.
“I believe that it is a special message the bandits are sending to Nigerians that we should be prepared. They have attacked the base of Nigeria’s strength. The security agencies must brace up. This is to say the least very frightening and the Federal Government must sit up to protect not only the military establishments, but the country as a whole. Something urgent needs to be done to rejig our security architecture.”