Hours after rumour of his death flooded the social media, emerging report suggested that the military officer who was abducted during the invasion of the Nigerian Defence Academy in Afaka, Kaduna, Major Christopher Datong, is still alive.
FIJ reported that his death has been dismissed by family sources who said the bandits have been in contact with his people.
This is just as they confirmed that the kidnapped official’s real name is Christopher Datong, not ‘Stephen Dantong’ as initially reported.
WuzupNigeria earlier reported how the bandits attacked the military architecture, killing two officers and abducting Major Datong in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.
They randomly operated for hours and left without any resistance.
Shortly after they departed, soldiers in the military architecture made efforts to trail them but failed.
Recall that WuzupNigeria also reported on Tuesday that the terrorists got in touch with the authorities in the defence academy to demand a N200 million ransom.
But the academy declared that they are unwilling to enter any negotiation with the bandits.
After the onslaught, multiple platforms had reported that his body was found dead.
However, FIJ reported that up till 10pm on Tuesday — hours after the supposed death was reported — both his family and the NDA received proof that he is alive.
His abductors alelgedly spoke with two different members of his extended family, both women.
The bandits had asked Datong to name someone he trusted the most to talk to and he did.
After Datong indentified his contact, the ‘bandits’ have refused to negotiate or talk to anyone else.
A source close to the family disclosed on Wednesday morning that “Every call they make, they give Datong the phone to talk to his self-appointed negotiator, just so that we have a proof of life,”
“He is alive. This much I can confirm. As of 10pm on Tuesday, he was still alive — and this was hours after the circulation of reports of his death,” he said.
In a related development, a senior source in the NDA said “They are unhappy with the way information has been leaking,” told FIJ, “so they are determined to control information”.
“The Army is very closely monitoring the situation but it does not want to use force because of the high chance of collateral damage,” he said.
