TRAGEDY :How My Son Was Killed At NDA – Ex-military father

A retired military officer, Wing Commander Danladi Angulu Kwasu, yesterday gave graphic details of how his 19-year-old son, Officer Cadet Elshadai Zishindung Kwasu (NDA/10037) met his death at died at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA).

Speaking at a media briefing, Kwasu, who is now a member of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, said: “My son died on 30th April 2015, as a result of drowning, occasioned by gross negligence combined with some deliberate acts on the part of the NDA and her associates.

“The NDA took them for a camping exercise (Camp Highland). In the course of the exercise, the NDA staff pushed him into the water of the Kangimi dam (the outskirt of Kaduna) at the deepest part of the dam. He was pushed into this deep water from a platform that is some metres high above the water.

“The NDA only tied a rope loosely round his waist with somebody else standing on the platform above the water and holding unto the other end of the rope. According to the NDA, this was the safety measure they had put in place to ensure his safety while inside the water.

“The rope that was loosely tied around my son’s waist was knotted in such a way that once he is inside the water, it can only tighten and grip him firmly if and only if the person standing on the platform and holding the other end of the rope decides to pull it. If the person standing on the platform, however, decides not to pull the rope, as it was done to my son, the rope will remain loose round the waist and could pull off him.

“Before my son was pushed into the water, he expressed to his colleagues his reservations on the idea of using a rope as a safety measure and the NDA staff overheard him. While he was standing on the platform to jump into the water, the same NDA staff suddenly pushed him off the platform into the water, claiming that he delayed in jumping into the water. In the process of pushing him, the loose rope round his waist was further loosened.

“When he fell into the water, because he didn’t know how to swim, he started struggling as he was drowning but the NDA staff refused to pull the other end of the rope so that the rope round his waist will grip him firmly; they rather chose to watch on as they were amused with his struggles inside the water until he got drowned.”

For some time, that was when the NDA staff decided to pull the rope. Unfortunately, by this time only the rope came out without my son, as the loose rope has pulled off his waist.

“When my son disappeared into the water, the NDA staff watched helplessly as there was no any safety measure in place. Note that no life jacket was provided and there was no any lifeguard or diver that could go into the water to save the boy,” he said while shading tears.

According to him, from the time the boy disappeared from the surface of the water at about 9.00am, it took the NDA 3 hours to bring him out from the water (at 11.55am) via the services of these local fishermen.

“They (NDA) callously used a fishhook that hooked him by the mouth like a fish and dragged him out of the water, dead. It was only after the death of my son that the NDA authority went and brought life jackets for the others to use. It was also then that they brought in 4 local rescuers to be on standby.

“My son who has never swam in his life time and the NDA did not teach him how to swim, was thrown into deep water with a rope loosely tied to his waist as a safety measure.

“The best way the NDA could rescue my son who was drowning, was to use fishhooks to hook him in the mouth and drag him out like a fish. I am not aware of anywhere, not even in medieval times, where fishhooks are used to rescue those that are drowning,” he added.

When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the NDA who prefer to remain unanimous told our Correspondent that the officer die on active service, adding that “the authority will react in due course. “