A fresh Cadet of Nigeria Defence Academy, NDA, Kaduna, James Didam
Bulus, has died of alleged brutalisation from senior cadets, 24 hours
after he finished registration and reported to hostel.
Sources
informed Saturday Vanguard in Kaduna that people wept uncontrollably at
the funeral of the 18 year-old James, with registration number NDA/
11537, at the Military Cemetery, on Whaff Road, Kaduna, on Thursday
while a contingent of Nigeria Army buried the late cadet with full
military honour, even though he had served his country for only 24
hours.
Brigadier General, MG Kangye, Cadets Commandant of the
school, handed over the Nigeria National Flag, a pair of army boot and
army ceremonial cap to the mourning father of the deceased, Mr Didam
Joshua, as women cried uncontrollably in the fenced cemetery.
Relations
of the deceased cadet were too distraught to speak to our
correspondent, but a close family friend of Joshua said he was beaten to
death on his “introductory” night.
He said: “He arrived NDA on
Saturday, 3rd September, 2016 and on Monday, 5th September; I was told
that he was dead. It was my friend that drove his son to the gate of old
NDA and they parted ways happily. But, I was told that he died on
Sunday after he did not survive what I was told was ‘introduction’
beatings from his seniors. At the mortuary, you could see stitches on
his head and he had bruises on other parts of the body. The NDA said
that he died of stomach pain and that before he could be taken to the
hospital, he died on the way.
“I asked ‘how can such a brilliant,
young boy who was very eager, proud and happy to serve his country get
killed just a day when he reported to start what we all thought will be a
brilliant military career?
“How can a healthy, smart boy who was
never a trouble maker have such wounds on his body, and someone is
saying he had stomach problem? God knows the best. But it will be
difficult for my friend (Joshua) to pull through this agony, especially
his wife, “, he said.
When contacted, the Public Relations
Officer, PRO, of NDA, Captain Musa Yahaya, said that James, who hails
from Kaduna municipality, had an accident on the day he was to report
and came to NDA with injuries.
He said: “It was when the new
cadets were queuing to receive their kits that Cadet Didam slumped. He
was immediately rushed to the clinic and was given the best of medical
attention. When the doctors examined him, they found out that he had
internal bleeding. He had earlier confided to one of his colleagues that
he had an accident on his way to NDA. But that he was afraid to tell
the authority so that they would not reject him. He was never
brutalized. It was an accident that he had. That was what the autopsy
confirmed. He died on Monday.”
