Gunmen who invaded Nigeria's foremost and elite military university, the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in Afaka, Kaduna, in the early hours of Tuesday, August 24, 2021, ripped apart a section of the barb wire fence surrounding the facility, before proceeding to wreak incalculable havoc on the academy.
Two top military officers were then gunned down from point blank range, before the terrorists fled with another top military officer who has since been identified as Major Christopher Datong.
Military sources say officers charged with monitoring the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) were sleeping when the terrorists sauntered through the institution disguised in military fatigues, while shooting sporadically.
The military high command has however denied that sentry officers were deep in sleep when the attack occurred.
"There was a dereliction of duty and the response time of officers was slow," a top military source at the academy who craved anonymity for this story, says.
"It is instructive to note that the NDA houses four battalions. There was no excuse for this," another military source says.
The gunmen would go on to damage and ransack about five flats in the institution.
They made their escape through the bushes surrounding the facility, with Major Datong in their vice grip.
The terrorists have since established communication channels with Datong's family, while demanding N200 million in ransom.
President Buhari says "the heinous action would accelerate the total uprooting of evil in the polity, which members of the Armed Forces are solidly resolved to accomplish in the shortest possible time."
National security concerns
The invasion has sparked widespread outrage, with the PDP describing the breach as a failure of national security.
In May, the Nigerian presidency admitted that the seat of government and presidential terrace, Aso Rock, suffered a breach after robbers attempted to break into the residences of Chief of Staff to the President Ibrahim Gambari and Admin Officer Maikano Abdullahi.
Poverty stricken Nigeria has been battling insurgents and bandits since 2009.