The family said the development has left them in anguish for over seven months without any official resolution.
The family of a 21-year-old Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) cadet, Stephen Kubuma Gani, has appealed to authorities for urgent clarity and intervention following his unexplained disappearance from the NDA, Kaduna State.
The family said the development has left them in anguish for over seven months without any official resolution.
SaharaReporters learnt that Gani, a native of Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State, was admitted into the Academy in 2024.
He was attached to the Burma Battalion, with registration number NDA/15131, and was a Naval cadet studying Geography in the Department of Geography.
His family says they have exhausted nearly every channel available, emotionally, financially, and institutionally, yet have received no documented explanation regarding what happened to their son.
Last Known Contact.
According to the family, the last communication they received from Gani occurred on Sunday, April 27, 2025, at about 2:00 p.m.
They said he called using his roommate’s phone to notify them that he had returned safely to the Academy after travelling from Jos, where he had spent the Easter holiday with his family.
However, shortly after the call, all attempts to reach him again failed. His phone stopped connecting, and subsequent calls went unanswered.
“He told us he had arrived safely. That was the last time we ever heard his voice,” his father, Mr Gani Agby, wrote in a formal enquiry submitted to the NDA Panel of Investigation on November 5, 2025.
“We never imagined that phone call would be our final contact,” the father lamented.
How the Family Learnt of Gani’s Disappearance
The family said their ordeal began on 29 April 2025, when they received a call from Lt. Makka, Deputy Battalion Commander of Burma Battalion, informing them that their son could not be found anywhere within the Academy.
According to the family, Makka reportedly told them that Gani had been present during the night bed check and lights-out the previous night.
He further relayed accounts attributed to the cadet’s roommate, Cdt. Bamaiyi H. Maidoki, who claimed that around 3:00 a.m., Gani woke him up, asked him to prepare for morning routines, and then stepped out to “ease himself”, after which he vanished without a trace.
The family said they were also contacted informally by a senior cadet, Cdt. N. O. Abdul, who wrote to them via WhatsApp, stating that Gani had not been seen in the academy.
According to Mrs Blessing Gani, he advised her “not to tell anyone about it,” a detail the family said deepened their fears.
Despite the phone conversations, the parents insisted that no official written notification of their son’s disappearance has ever been issued by the NDA.
Conflicting Accounts and Unanswered Questions
The family said they have repeatedly expressed concern over the discrepancies in the narratives provided to them.
The family said that initially, they were informed that Gani participated in bed checks and lights-out.
However, information which later reached them suggested that his roommates might have played a role in his disappearance.
In their submission to the NDA investigative panel, Gani’s father alleged that his son was the only Christian in a room of four cadets and suggested that the circumstances surrounding his disappearance “sound like a prearranged setup.”
“As a father, I believe Stephen was hypnotised and taken by his roommates to a waiting vehicle parked outside their room by someone within the military,” Gani’s father said.
“After his disappearance, his SIM card was used to communicate with his abductors.”
The family also questioned why Gani’s SIM card was initially declared missing but later “found” in unclear circumstances.
According to the family, the Battalion Commander first stated that the roommate, Bamaiyi, did not have it, but after further probing, the cadet claimed to have later discovered it.
“These contradictions are disturbing,” the family said.
Investigation Without Transparency
The parents said they were informed that an internal committee of investigation had been set up by the Academy.
However, they claim they have never been granted a physical meeting with the committee members.
“All our communications with those said to be the chairman and secretary happened only via telephone,” the family said.
“No written report, no official update, nothing concrete. We are completely in the dark.”
They added that they visited the NDA on May 1 and May 5, 2025, but were not allowed to search or access any part of the Academy where their son may have been last seen.
Police Contacts Without Documentation
The family said they further reported the incident at the police station near the Academy and later at the Kaduna State Police Headquarters.
However, they alleged that they were not issued any reference number for their report, a development that has complicated their ability to formally track the complaint.
They said their efforts to reach their elected political representatives also hit a dead end, adding that a message sent to their senator went unanswered.
The family said they have also not been able to obtain the intervention of their House of Representatives member, nor have they received engagement from Taraba State officials.
Strange Phone Call Deepens Suspicion
On July 18, 2025, nearly three months after Gani’s disappearance, his father said he received a mysterious call from a private number at about 2:01 p.m.
“The caller asked if I was Stephen’s father,” he said. “When I said yes, I asked for the caller’s identity, who refused to answer. He simply said, ‘Your son will be with you,’ speaking in Hausa.”
The family said the cryptic call further heightened their distress.
The family said that since April, life has been at a standstill for them.
“We cannot sleep. We cannot eat. Our business has collapsed,” Gani’s parents said, adding, “Every day we wake up with fear. Every night, we do not know if he is alive or dead.”
They said they have taken loans, halted their work, and travelled repeatedly in search of answers, yet none have come.
“What hurts most is the silence,” Gani’s mother said. “We are being treated this way because we are nobodies in Nigeria.”
Formal Submission to the NDA Panel
In the formal complaint they submitted to the NDA Panel of Investigation, the family outlined every known detail, the contradictions they observed, and their demands.
The family demanded an independent and transparent investigation, a formal written briefing from the Academy, protection for witnesses, and official disclosure of any findings to date.
They appealed directly to “the Secretary, Panel of Investigation into the disappearance of Cdt. Stephen Kubuma Gani.”
However, as of the time of this report, the Nigerian Defence Academy has not issued any public statement providing details about the circumstances of Gani’s disappearance or the status of the internal investigation.
The family stressed that multiple attempts they have made to seek official clarification have reportedly been met only with verbal reassurances, but no documented communication.
Over seven months after their son vanished under mysterious circumstances within one of Nigeria’s most secure military training environments, the Gani family continues to wait for explanations.
“Stephen is our first son. Our child,” the father said. “We are begging the Nigerian Defence Academy and the Nigerian government: help us find him. Tell us the truth. Give us answers.”
For the family, the search continues. But the silence, they said, has become unbearable.