NDA Admission: Group cautions against making recruitment religious contest

A group, Gospel Reggae Team Initiative (GRTI), has expressed concern over a statement attributed to the Abuja Chapter of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) alleging religious imbalance in the recently released admission list for the 78 Regular Course of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna.

MURIC recently frowned at what it described as a clear religious imbalance in the 2026 NDA 78 Regular Course admission list released recently.

The Islamic organisation, in a statement by its Chairman, Ustaz Salahudeen, said the composition of the admission committee and the ratio of Muslims and Christians admitted in each state raised serious concerns.

According to Mr Salahudeen, all key officers superintending the admission process are of the same faith, naming the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), the Chairman of the NDA Selection Board, the Commandant of NDA, the NDA Registrar and the NDA Provost as all being Christian.

He said this lopsided hierarchy raises legitimate concerns about balance, fairness, objectivity and adherence to the Federal Character principle enshrined in Section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution.

However, the GRTI, in a statement on Tuesday by its Founder/Coordinator, Lucy Awe, and shared with PREMIUM TIMES, said as a Christian body, which believes in the unity of Nigeria, viewing issues of admission into the NDA through the lens of religion is deeply troubling.

“As Christians who believe deeply in the unity, peace and sovereignty of Nigeria, we find the attempt to assess admission into Nigeria’s premier military training institution primarily through the lens of Christianity and Islam deeply troubling,” the statement said.

It, therefore, appealed to the State Security Service (also known as Department of State Services) and other relevant security and public institutions to remain vigilant and, where appropriate, encourage restraint in public commentary that could unnecessarily introduce religious tension into sensitive national processes.

It explained that its position is not meant to prevent anyone from raising legitimate concerns about the institution’s admission process, but that such concerns should be presented and assessed on the basis of objective criteria, evidence and established laws and regulations, rather than religious assumptions.

The group also quoted one of its trustees, Odoh Okenyodo, as saying that, “The Nigerian Defence Academy is not a Christian institution. It is not a Muslim institution. It belongs to Nigeria. Its responsibility is to train Nigerians who will serve the Nigerian state, irrespective of their religion, ethnicity, region or social background.

“The fundamental questions in military recruitment should therefore be whether candidates meet the established requirements and demonstrate the competence, character, discipline and commitment necessary to serve Nigeria.”

GRTI said it is particularly concerned about attempts to establish religious ratios among candidates admitted from various states and to draw conclusions about fairness primarily from whether candidates are identified as Christians or Muslims.

“This raises an important question: What legitimate recruitment criterion requires the NDA admission process to be reduced to a Christian-Muslim arithmetic?

“Federal character and equitable representation are important constitutional principles. However, these principles should not be interpreted as requiring every government institution to reproduce a particular religious ratio.

“There is a fundamental difference between ensuring equitable representation across Nigeria’s diverse communities and allocating opportunities according to religious identity.

“The latter could create an unhealthy precedent in which competence and qualification gradually become secondary to religious considerations.” It stated.

The group noted that the repeated introduction of religious considerations into government appointments, recruitment, admissions and other public processes deserves careful reflection.

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It argued that if allowed to become a recurring feature of public discourse, such practices could place pressure on government institutions to consider religious identity where competence, integrity and national loyalty ought to remain paramount.

According to GRTI, this is particularly sensitive when dealing with the military and other security institutions.

“Nigeria needs security personnel whose primary allegiance is to the Federal Republic of Nigeria and its Constitution, rather than to religious, ethnic or sectional interests.

“We therefore encourage all stakeholders to approach matters concerning security-sector recruitment with a strong sense of responsibility and patriotism,” it added.

The group said if there are genuine concerns about the NDA admission process, the appropriate questions are clear: What were the published admission criteria; What were the applicable cut-off marks; Were the criteria applied consistently; Were candidates treated fairly and equally; and was there any violation of applicable law or recruitment policy?

GRTI said that, as a Christian organisation, it is appealing for restraints “because we believe Christianity does not require Christians to demand religious quotas in every Nigerian institution. We equally reject any expectation that Muslims should receive preferential treatment simply because they are Muslims.”