President Bola Tinubu issued a warning yesterday, expressing the gravity of his position as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, stating that any assault on the armed forces or any of its members will be viewed as an assault on the country. Such an attack, according to Tinubu, was intolerable.
The claims were made in the president’s official statement, which he personally signed, in response to the deaths of 16 troops in Delta State on Thursday.
Tinubu denounced the murders of 12 troops and four senior officers by suspected criminal youths during a peace mission in the Delta State hamlet of Okuoma, declaring that such a heinous act would not be tolerated.
The president gave the military leadership complete power to pursue and apprehend the criminals who had murdered sixteen of their troops.
In the one-page statement, Tinubu went on to say that the people who carried out the act would not escape punishment and would instead be subject to the full force of the law.
The president of Nigeria told the people that the military high command was taking the appropriate action to handle the regrettable situation, calling the killing unnecessary. According to him, it was the military authorities’ responsibility to see that the criminal masterminds are brought to justice.
Similarly, yesterday, several senators, former Anambra State governor Peter Obi, former vice president Atiku Abubakar, and other significant figures denounced the massacre, calling it horrible and inhumane.
Yesterday, the military kept up its siege of the Okuama community in Delta State’s Ughelli South Local Government Area while they looked for the soldiers’ murders. The troops were on A mission of peace for the community.
The buildings that the suspected offenders were said to own or occupy were set on fire by the highly armed troops who were relentless in their pursuit to capture the perpetrators from the now-deserted town.
The president sent his condolences to the families of the dead officers and soldiers while he was in mourning for their deaths.
“The Nigerian people and I woke up to the dreadful news of the unprovoked killing of our brave military personnel during a rescue mission to Okuoma community, Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State,” the speaker stated in a brief statement.
“The incident happened on Thursday, March 14, 2024, when our troops responded to a problem in Delta State between the towns of Okuama and Okoloba.
There were rumors that the enraged soldiers set fire to various buildings that were purportedly owned or occupied by the accused criminals.
“Yes, soldiers are still in the community,” a security source confirmed. They are searching for the people who did that heinous deed. Since more arrests were made between Saturday and today (Sunday), they will get them.
“I don’t know who ignited the fires or when, but several properties were set on fire. When we entered to join the soldiers, we saw that they were in flames.
It was discovered that, despite the neighborhood being desolate, some degree of serenity had returned. Older men and women could be seen sitting down in front of their homes, looking melancholy.
