A Family's Agony in the Dark: Cadet Vanishes from Nigerian Defence Academy as Seven-Month Search Yields No Answers

For over seven agonizing months, the family of 21-year-old Cadet Stephen Kubuma Gani has been trapped in a nightmare with no end in sight. Their son vanished from inside the walls of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in Kaduna under baffling circumstances. Now, with pleas for official help seemingly ignored, they are breaking their silence, demanding to know if their child is alive and why one of Nigeria's most secure military institutions has left them without answers.

The Disappearance and the Contradictions

Cadet Stephen Kubuma Gani, a Naval cadet studying Geography, was last heard from on the afternoon of Sunday, April 27, 2025. He called his family from a roommate's phone to confirm his safe return to the Academy after the Easter break.

The Official Account: The family's ordeal began two days later, on April 29, when they were informed by an NDA officer that Gani was missing. They were told he was present for a nighttime bed check, then stepped out around 3:00 a.m. to "ease himself" and never returned.

*   Mounting Suspicious: The initial story soon unraveled. The family received conflicting information suggesting his roommates might have been involved. Gani's father highlighted that his son was the only Christian in a room of four cadets, calling the event a "prearranged setup". The status of Gani's SIM card also changed mysteriously—first declared missing, then reportedly found with a roommate under unclear circumstances.

A Family's Frustrating Quest for Answers

The Gani family describes a seven-month struggle met with institutional silence and dead ends.

*   Opaque "Investigation": While the NDA informed them an internal investigative committee was formed, the family has never been allowed a physical meeting with its members. All communication has been via telephone, with no written reports or official updates provided.

*   Closed Doors and Ignored Appeals: Visits to the Academy in early May 2025 yielded no access to search the grounds. Their reports to the police did not result in a formal case number, and their appeals to political representatives from Taraba State went unanswered.

*   A Cryptic Call: The family's distress deepened in July when Gani's father received a mysterious phone call. An unidentified speaker, talking in Hausa, simply said, "Your son will be with you," before hanging up.

A Shadow of Past Insecurity

While this case involves a mysterious disappearance, it casts a shadow over the NDA's recent history. In **August 2021**, the academy suffered a major security breach when bandits attacked its premises, killed two officers, and abducted another. That incident led to high-level visits and promises of enhanced security measures, making Gani's disappearance from within the secured campus all the more alarming.

The Unbearable Silence

"Stephen is our first son. Our child," his father pleaded in a formal submission to the NDA. The family's life and business have come to a standstill, consumed by fear and the "unbearable" silence from authorities. They have demanded a transparent, independent investigation and a formal written briefing—pleas that have so far been met only with verbal reassurances.