The Muslim rights group says the 2026 admission list shows disparities in the religious composition of successful candidates across several states and calls for the selection criteria to be made public.

By Abdullahi Yusuf

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), Abuja Chapter, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to order an immediate review of the Nigerian Defence Academy’s 78 Regular Course admission list, alleging religious imbalance in the distribution of successful candidates across states.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, MURIC said its preliminary examination of the 2026 admission list revealed what it described as “disturbing patterns” in the ratio of Muslim and Christian candidates admitted from several states.

The group also raised concerns over the religious composition of senior officials overseeing the admission process, saying the Chief of Defence Staff, Chairman of the NDA Selection Board, Commandant, Registrar and Provost are all Christians.

MURIC said the composition raised questions about balance, fairness and objectivity in the admission process, as well as compliance with the Federal Character principle contained in Section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution.

Among the disparities cited by the group, it said Adamawa had six Christians among 10 successful candidates, with all three reserve candidates also Christians, while Benue had only one Muslim among 10 candidates and all three reserves were Christians.

It said Edo had no Muslim among those admitted or placed on the reserve list, while Ondo similarly had no Muslim among 13 candidates including reserves.

MURIC also cited Imo, where it said only one Muslim was admitted among 13 candidates including reserves, and Ogun, where it identified two Muslims among 10 candidates.

In the northern states, the group said six of Kaduna’s 10 successful candidates were Christians, while Kebbi had one Christian among 10. It also said five of Gombe’s 10 successful candidates were Christians, with all three reserves also Christians.

Other figures cited by MURIC included two Muslims among 10 candidates in Taraba, three among 10 in Oyo, four among 10 in Niger, four among 10 in Nasarawa and four among 10 in Kogi.

The group said Lagos had five Muslims among 10 successful candidates, while Bauchi had two Christians among 10 and Yobe two Christians among 10.

MURIC stressed that its assessment was preliminary and called for the criteria used to determine the successful candidates to be disclosed.

It urged the Presidency to direct an immediate review of the 78 Regular Course admission list and called for the reconstitution of key NDA admission and appointment positions to better reflect Nigeria’s religious and ethnic diversity.

The group also demanded that the NDA publish the selection criteria, including the cut-off marks and quota allocated to each state.

MURIC said such disclosure would help address concerns over fairness and strengthen confidence in the admission process.

The statement was signed by Ustaz Yunus Salahudeen, Chairman of MURIC Abuja Chapter, and Lukman Babalola Laleye, its Publicity Secretary.

The group said it expected the Presidency to act promptly, warning that fairness and equity in national institutions were essential to maintaining national cohesion.