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By Chukwudi Abiandu

For seven months, the Gani family in Wukari, Taraba State, has lived in a silence so heavy it feels like a second disappearance.

Their son, 21-year-old Cadet Stephen Kubuma Gani, left for the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in Kaduna with the dreams of a lifetime stitched into his crisp new uniform. But today, those dreams hang suspended, replaced by questions that no one in authority has yet answered.

Stephen, admitted into the NDA in 2024 and attached to Burma Battalion, last spoke with his parents on Sunday, April 27, 2025. He told them he had returned safely to the Academy after a brief outing and had resumed normal activities. It was the last time they heard his voice.

Since that day, his phone has remained unreachable. The Academy has offered no written communication. And the family, whose home is now filled with the constant echo of waiting, has been left to navigate uncertainty alone.

A Mother’s Tears, A Father’s Vigil

Neighbours say Stephen’s mother no longer sleeps through the night. She wakes to check her phone, hoping for a missed call, a message, a sign.

His father, once known for his cheerful greetings in the neighbourhood, now sits for long hours on the veranda, staring into the distance as though Stephen might walk back through the gate at any moment.

The family told the Middle Belt Awareness Forum (MBAF) that when they visited the Academy to seek answers, they met conflicting accounts. Some officials claimed an internal committee had been set up to look into the disappearance, but neither the committee’s findings nor its report has ever been released to them. They say they were not even allowed to search the premises. No formal letter. No official update. No closure.

A Region Speaks Up

It is this painful silence that pushed the Middle Belt Awareness Forum (MBAF) to break theirs.

In a public appeal, the group expressed “deep concern and a profound sense of national responsibility” over what they describe as the troubling lack of clarity surrounding Stephen’s disappearance.

To them, this is no longer just a family’s private anguish, it is a national security question, a human rights issue, and a test of institutional accountability within Nigeria’s foremost military training ground.

MBAF warns that silence in such a matter breeds fear and fear, in turn, erodes trust in the very institutions meant to protect citizens.

Their Demand: Truth, Transparency, and Humanity

The Forum has called on the highest levels of national leadership, from the President and Commander-in-Chief, to the Senate President, to the Chief of Defence Staff, to Taraba’s political leaders, and to the management of the NDA to take immediate action.

Their requests are simple, yet profound:

1. A transparent, independent investigation.
2. Regular, written updates to the family.
3. Open channels for oversight and accountability.
4. A national assurance that no young Nigerian is disposable.

MBAF insists this is not an attack on the military. Rather, it is a plea for justice and for the preservation of public confidence in Nigeria’s security institutions.

“A Nation That Protects Its Children, Protects Its Future”

Stephen is not just a missing cadet. He is a son, a brother, a friend, a young man who believed so deeply in serving his country that he chose to walk the path of discipline, sacrifice, and honour.

His disappearance has left an entire community unsettled. It has left a region afraid that if a young man can vanish inside a national institution without explanation, then the line between safety and uncertainty is far thinner than anyone imagined.

As MBAF put it: “Justice delayed is justice denied. Silence in the face of pain only deepens mistrust.”

For now, the Gani family continues to hope, even as the months stretch on.

And the nation watches, waiting for the moment when someone in authority finally answers the question:

Where is Cadet Stephen Kubuma Gani?

Following is full text of the MBAF appeal:

MIDDLE BELT AWARENESS FORUM (MBAF)

PUBLIC APPEAL FOR URGENT INTERVENTION
Re: Missing NDA Cadet – Stephen Kubuma Gani (NDA/15131, Burma Battalion)

The Middle Belt Awareness Forum (MBAF) writes with deep concern and a profound sense of national responsibility to draw the urgent attention of the Federal Government and relevant authorities to the disturbing case of Cadet Stephen Kubuma Gani, a 21-year-old native of Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State, who has been missing from the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna, for several months without official public clarity regarding his whereabouts.

Stephen Kubuma Gani, a young Nigerian of Middle Belt origin, was admitted into the NDA in 2024 and attached to Burma Battalion with registration number NDA/15131, a Naval Cadet studyinyGeography under the Department of Geography. According to credible information provided by his parents, their last contact with him was on Sunday, 27 April 2025, when he confirmed that he had safely returned to the Academy and resumed normal activities. Shortly thereafter, all communication with him ceased.

MBAF notes with grave concern the conflicting accounts reportedly given to the family regarding the circumstances of his disappearance, the lack of written official communication to the parents, and the absence of any publicly released findings despite claims that an investigation committee was constituted by the Academy. We are particularly disturbed by reports that the family was denied access to search the premises and has not received any formal written updates after months of waiting.

This situation raises serious national security, human rights, and institutional accountability concerns.

In light of the above, we respectfully and urgently call upon:

The President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

The President of the Senate

The Chief of Defence Staff

The Governor of Taraba State

The Senator representing Taraba South Senatorial District

The Member representing Wukari–Ibi Federal Constituency

The leadership of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna

The Nigerian Army and other relevant security and oversight agencies

to immediately intervene in this matter by:

1. Ensuring a transparent, independent, and credible investigation into the disappearance of Cadet Stephen Kubuma Gani.

2. Providing the family with official written briefings and status updates on the progress of the investigation.

3. Opening institutional channels for accountability, oversight, and independent monitoring of the case.

4. Reassuring Nigerians, especially families of serving and aspiring military personnel, that no citizen’s life is disposable and that our national institutions are guided by justice and transparency.

MBAF emphasizes that this appeal is not an attack on any institution but a patriotic call for truth, fairness, and national conscience. As advocates for unity, justice, and the dignity of the peoples of the Middle Belt, we cannot remain silent while a young Nigerian disappears under circumstances that remain unclear.

Justice delayed is justice denied. Silence in the face of pain only deepens mistrust.

We therefore urge all relevant authorities to act with urgency, compassion, and transparency in the interest of the family, the Middle Belt region, and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Middle Belt Awareness Forum (MBAF)
07038543606

“A nation that protects its children protects its future.”