The Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) has kicked against a proposed law that would guarantee automatic admission for graduates of military secondary schools, warning that such a move could violate the federal character principle and unfairly disadvantage other qualified Nigerian applicants.
The academy made its position known on Tuesday during a public hearing organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Defence, chaired by Babajimi Benson. The position was presented by the Director of Military Training, Brig.-Gen. Taiye Ahmed.
The hearing focused on four defence-related bills, including HB.1709, which seeks to amend Section 8(2) of the Second Schedule to the NDA Act by making it mandatory for the Academy’s board to grant automatic admission to successful graduates of Nigerian military schools.
Supporters of the bill argued that the amendment would help prevent military school graduates from being recruited by non-state violent groups.
However, Ahmed said the NDA could not support the proposal in its current form, insisting it would create legal and constitutional challenges. According to him, the amendment conflicts with the federal character principle that guides admissions into the Academy, ensuring equitable representation from all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
He warned that granting automatic admission to one category of applicants could amount to discrimination against other qualified candidates.
“The proposed amendment could face legal challenges for being discriminatory against applicants who did not attend military school, as it could be perceived as disenfranchising them from admission into the NDA,” Ahmed said.
He explained that graduates of military secondary schools already compete alongside other candidates through the Academy’s existing merit-based admission process, which includes minimum JAMB score requirements as well as rigorous physical, psychological and medical screening.
Ahmed added that available records indicate that civilian applicants sometimes outperform military school graduates under the current selection criteria.
He further noted that graduates of military schools already have several other opportunities to join the Armed Forces, including direct enlistment as soldiers, Short Service Commission, Direct Short Service Commission and Executive Commission programmes.
“The NDA is of the opinion that the current admission process should be maintained,” he concluded.
The committee also considered bills seeking to establish a Joint Doctrine and Warfare Centre, an Armed Forces Medical College in Abuja, and to upgrade the National Defence College of Nigeria into a postgraduate degree-awarding institution.
Bringing the hearing to a close, Committee Chairman, Babajimi Benson, commended stakeholders for their contributions, describing the exercise as “the people’s parliament.”
