A 100-level police cadet, A.S. Jika, tragically passed away on Saturday in a heartbreaking incident at the Nigeria Police Academy in Wudil, Kano State.
The cadet’s death has raised serious questions about the academy’s conditions, with allegations of prolonged starvation and malnourishment.
Several cadets have accused the academy’s Commandant, Assistant Inspector-General Sadiq Abubakar, of highhandedness and financial mismanagement related to the feeding allowance designated for the students.
Jika, a student from Adamawa State enrolled in the Department of Computer Science, collapsed inside a restroom during the early hours of Saturday.
Speaking out of concern, an anonymous cadet revealed that the victim was urgently rushed to the academy’s clinic after his collapse.
“He was left untreated because there were no drugs and no medical officer to attend to him in the unconducive environment before he gave up and died,” the source added.
Another cadet, who also asked not to be identified, said there was usually a high traffic of sickly cadets at the unequipped clinic on a daily basis.
“Since the new commandant assumed office, they’ve been providing very bad and inadequate food for us. The boy who died was not even 20 years old.
‘The boy wouldn’t have died if they’d attended to him. The commandant also ordered the closure of the market and laundry and approved undeserved training exercises during lecture hours.
“Cadets collapse daily here during training due to fatigue, because either they’re starved, malnourished, or both.
‘We’re usually threatened by the commandant and forced to engage in unwarranted training exercises. Also, many cadets have been dismissed on the basis that they fell sick; that’s why many are trying to manage themselves to avoid expulsion from the academy.”
