Uchechukwu Okoroafor, Abuja
Recently, at least 17 soldiers, including four officers, were killed in Delta State, Nigeria, while responding to a distress call during fighting between two communities.
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The attack in the oil-rich, riverine Delta State happened in the Bomadi council area when the soldiers, deployed to keep the peace, were allegedly surrounded by some community youths and killed, according to Defense Headquarters spokesman Brig. Gen. Tukur Gusau in a statement.
The attack led to the death of the commanding officer, two majors, one captain and 12 soldiers, Gusau had said. Media reports indicated that the conflict in Delta State was related to a lingering land dispute between the Okuama and Okoloba communities, which resulted in the abduction of one man. The soldiers had unsuccessfully tried to negotiate his freedom.
Though mostly deployed on special security operations across the West African country, Nigerian soldiers are sometimes sent to resolve conflict in communities, especially areas with an inadequate security presence or where deadly clashes are common.
The killing of the soldiers received widespread condemnation across the country, especially as the killers decapitated the bodies of the dead soldiers, including cutting off their heads. This was barbarism taken too far and those who did this deserve the hottest part of hell when they die and execution if found guilty by a competent court of law.
Leading the charge in condemnation of the heinous crime and brutality of the culprits was President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The president did not only condemn the act; he had directed the Nigerian army to bring the perpetrators of the tragic killing of the soldiers to justice. Tinubu while condemning the attack and labelling it as a direct assault on the nation vowed that those responsible would face consequences for their actions. “The cowardly offenders responsible for this heinous crime will not go unpunished,” declared President Tinubu.
Granting full authority to the defence headquarters and chief of defence staff, Tinubu urged decisive action to ensure justice for the fallen soldiers and the civilian victims. Also, the Nigerian Senate condemned the killing of the soldiers. Moving the motion of Orders 41 and 51, Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua representing Katsina Central Senatorial District, urged Senators to condemn in strong terms the ambush and killing of the soldiers, describing it as a disaster to the nation.
Major opposition leaders, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party (LP)’s presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election, Peter Obi was among those that called for the prosecution of those involved in the attacks.
Taking advantage of the full authority granted it by President Bola Tinubu to go after killers of its men, the military high command declared that there would be a measured but injurious response to the killing of military personnel in Okuama, Delta State. The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) stated this in a statement by Director, Defence Media Operations (DDMO), Maj-Gen. Edward Buba. Ministers of Defence, Badaru Abubakar and Bello Matawalle, while condemning the killing, said the federal government would not tolerate any threat to the country’s security and sovereignty. They said the perpetrators must be brought to justice.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Taoreed Lagbaja, said there was no hiding place for the killers of the military personnel. Interestingly, operatives of the Joint Task Force (JTF) on the trail of killers of the military personnel, on Monday, denied Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State and journalists access to Okuama community, when he visited to get first-hand information on the incident.
The Nigerian Army said its troops will not leave the creeks in Delta State until those who killed 17 military personnel in Okuama community of Delta state are caught. General Officer Commanding, 6 Division, Nigerian Army/Land Component Commander, Joint Task Force, South-South, Operation DELTA STATE, Major General Jamal Abdussalam assured leaders of the Niger Delta region that troops will be professional in ensuring those behind the incident are nabbed.
Sadly, despite the assurance that it would be professional in responding to the killing of its men, the military was accused of allegedly razing the Okuama community. The military’s claim of innocence was not helped by its refusal to allow others, including journalists access to the community. There are indeed strong allegations that some angry soldiers may have perpetrated the act of levelling Okuama community after their colleagues were killed. Residents of the coastal community have fled to neighbouring Ughelli for fear of a reprisal by the soldiers who have been patrolling the creeks.
For exposing the alleged activities of soldiers, the military had accused the Okuama community of resorting to propaganda. The military slammed the community and stressed that no amount of propaganda would stop culprits from being nabbed, while the Defence Headquarters vowed that there would be injurious consequences. A community leader, who spoke to journalists on the condition of anonymity, because of fear of harassment, accused the military of carrying out mass arrests and killings. He warned that the actions of the soldiers could lead to a repeat of the Odi incident.
Accusing the military, the community leader alleged that soldiers had begun targeting innocent civilians in the community rather than going after the miscreants who committed the crime. Also, there were reports that soldiers deployed in Okuama resorted to burning houses as residents fled the community.
There is no doubt that the recent killing of 17 officers and men of the Nigerian Army by an armed gang at Okuama community in Ughelli South Local Government Area (LGA) in Delta State was the most atrocious and audacious act against the Nigerian state by any non-state actor in recent years. For many, no word can describe such cruel, insensitive, inhuman and senseless crime against humanity.