The Nigerian Defence Academy has rejected a proposed amendment that would grant automatic admission to graduates of military secondary schools, cautioning that the move could breach Nigeria's federal character principle and shut out other qualified candidates from military education opportunities. The academy stated its position on Tuesday during a public hearing organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Defence to review proposed amendments to defence related laws before the National Assembly.

Presenting the NDA's submission, Brigadier General Taiye Ahmed, Director of Military Training, argued that the amendment, if passed as currently framed, would raise constitutional and legal concerns capable of disrupting the academy's established admission system. He explained that the bill seeks to alter Section 8(2) of the Second Schedule to the NDA Act by guaranteeing automatic admission for graduates of recognised military secondary schools, including the Nigerian Military School Zaria, the Air Force Military School, the Air Force Girls Military School, and the Nigerian Navy Military School.

According to Ahmed, proponents of the amendment justified it as a way to shield military school graduates from potential recruitment by criminal groups and violent non state actors. He stated: "The justification advanced by the proponents is to prevent the graduates of the schools from being handy tools in the hands of non state violent actors because of the graduate military background."

The NDA, however, maintained that the proposal conflicts with the constitutional principle of federal character, which guides admission into the academy to guarantee national inclusiveness and equitable representation across the federation. Ahmed warned that the amendment could also trigger legal disputes from candidates who meet admission requirements but did not attend military secondary schools, noting it risks being challenged as discriminatory.

Defending the existing process, Ahmed explained that military school graduates already compete on equal footing with civilian applicants under a merit based system, adding that records from past admission exercises show civilian candidates sometimes outperform their military school counterparts. He pointed to alternative pathways already open to military school graduates, including enlistment as soldiers and progression through short service or executive commission routes.

Ahmed stressed that NDA admission remains highly competitive, requiring strong academic, physical, medical and psychological standards alongside JAMB requirements, and urged lawmakers to retain the current framework.

The hearing also reviewed other defence sector reform bills, including proposals for a Joint Doctrine and Warfare Centre, an Armed Forces Medical College in Abuja, and the upgrade of the National Defence College into a postgraduate institution. Committee Chairman Babajimi Benson commended contributors, describing the session as productive for the legislative process ahead.