UPDATED: Army abducted by bandits from Nigerian Defence Academy is dead

Major Stephen Datong, the soldier who was abducted by gunmen suspected to be bandits from the Nigerian Defence Academy Afaka, Kaduna State has been found dead.

Newsflash Nigeria understands that the bandits killed Major Datong after two hours abducted.

He said, “Major Datong who was kidnapped early this morning inside the Nigerian Defence Academy, NDA, Kaduna has been found dead two hours ago.”

Newsflash Nigeria had reported that the gunmen who abducted the major demanded a ransom of N200million from military authorities.

The gunmen invaded the Afaka barracks of the academy around 1 am on Tuesday, killing two soldiers identified as Lieutenant Commodore Wulah and Flight Lieutenant Okoronkwo.

One of the officers who was injured in the attack is currently being treated at a hospital within the barracks.

The bandits subsequently contacted the Defence Academy to initiate negotiation on the payment of ransom to secure the release of Datong.

The gunmen reportedly operated for hours and left without any hindrance.

“They couldn’t kill even one of them,” an NDA source lamented. “They searched everywhere in the bush but couldn’t find them. They had fled away with their motorbikes.”

 “They have called to ask for N200million to free the Major,” the source also said.

“The attack was ridiculous. They came, teased us and left. Even the helicopter hovering in the bush could not track them.”

After the attack, Bashir Muhd Jajira, spokesman for the NDA in Kaduna, said the security architecture of the NDA was compromised 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,” he said.

“The Academy, in collaboration with the 1 Division 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 rescuing the abducted personnel.”

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