Former Vice President and Presidential candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party in the 2023 general elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has mourned the killing of 16 military officers in Okuama community in Ughelli Local Government of Delta State.
Atiku disclosed this in a personally signed statement posted on is X (formerly Twitter) handle.
Decrying the gruesome killing of the 16 soldiers the Atiku stated that there can be no justification for such dastardly act.
“The brutal killing of over a dozen Nigerian soldiers in Okuama in the Ughelli South Local Government Area and Okolaba in the Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State stands condemned. There can never be a justification for a premeditated killing of soldiers on a legitimate assignment.
“Even as we grieve the loss of these soldiers, who are not only Nigerians but have families and dependants, I urge restraints by the military authorities in its response. I would recommend that the culprits be arrested and prosecuted.” Atiku noted.
Chronicle NG reported that fourteen lifeless bodies of killed soldiers were recovered in the early hours of Saturday by soldiers of the joint task force under the supervision of the General Officer Commanding 6 Division Nigerian Army, Major General Jamal Abdussalam, at Okuama community, in the Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State.
Some of the recovered corpses were said to have been beheaded, while the stomachs and hearts of others were ripped off.
The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has ordered a probe into the tragic killing of four senior officers and 12 soldiers.
It was gathered that the slain military personnel responded to a distress call after the communal crisis between the Okuama and Okoloba communities, both in Delta State, before they were killed on Thursday, March 14.
