Delta killings: Assault on security, stability of N/Delta region – Lawan
Kunle Sanni, Abuja
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Defence, Ahmad Lawan, has described the killing of military personnel in Okuoma community in Delta, as an assault on security and stability of the Niger Delta region.
Lawan made his position known in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday.
He expressed sadness at the number of lives lost and property destroyed, following the crisis which ensued between Okuoma and Okoloba communities of Delta.
He urged the Nigerian military and other security agencies to take urgent action to investigate the killings, bring the perpetrators to justice and restore peace and order in the area.
The former senate president tasked the people of Okuoma community to provide useful information that would lead to the arrest of the culprits behind the heinous act.
“The senate committee on defence strongly condemns the killings of military personnel in Okuoma, Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta on March 14.
“The committee mourns the death of a commanding officer, two majors, one captain, 12 soldiers, and a civilian who were killed while the military was responding to a crisis between Okuoma and Okoloba communities.
“This heinous act of violence perpetrated by the attackers on our troops is a direct assault on the security and stability of the Niger Delta region.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of lives and the destruction inflicted on the community.
“We urge them to conduct a thorough investigation, apprehend the attackers, and prosecute them to the full extent of the law.
“Furthermore, we demand that the Federal Government should provide adequate support to families of those killed,” he stated.
Lawan expressed his condolences with the families of the victims and prayed for speedy recovery of the injured, saying the committee is in solidarity with people of Okuoma and called for an end to violence and impunity that had engulfed the community.
At least 16 Nigerian soldiers were murdered while attempting to quell disturbances between two villages in the South-South state of Delta.
The troops from the 181 Amphibious Battalion, which was deployed in the Bomadi region, were on a peacekeeping assignment in the Okuoma hamlet when they were slain on Thursday, March 14, according to Brigadier General Tukur Gusau in a statement released on Saturday.
Soldiers of the Joint Task Force, led by General Officer Commanding 6 Division, Nigerian Army, Major General Jamal Abdussalam, reportedly recovered fifteen soldiers’ bodies.
In his reaction to the killings, President Tinubu in a statement he personally signed on Sunday gave the Defence Headquarters and Chief of Defence Staff the go ahead to bring to justice anybody found to have been responsible for the killings.
