‘Perpetrators must be smoked out’ — senate condemns killing of soldiers in Delta

The senate says those who perpetrated the killing of 16 soldiers of the Nigerian Army in Delta state must be brought to book.

The personnel — comprising a lieutenant ​colonel, two majors, one captain, and 12 soldiers — were killed on Thursday while on a “peacekeeping mission” in Okuama, Bomadi LGA of Delta.

They had reportedly responded to a distress call after a communal clash between the Okuama and Okoloba communities.

In a statement on Monday, Yemi Adaramodu, spokesperson of the senate, praised the “courage of the departed military men as they have paid the supreme price performing the ultimate act of service to the nation”.

“This is a perfidious height of a barbaric and heinous crime,” the statement reads.

“The Nigeria Armed Forces need our maximum cooperation, prayers and support at this trying period in our nation, as they conduct operations all over the country to restore peace and stability in troubled locations.

“The Senate leadership and all Distinguished Senators of the 10th Senate condemn this attack and convey their deepest condolences to the Chief of Defense Staff, Chief of Army Staff, the Nigerian Army, officers and men of Operation Delta Safe as well as the families of all the personnel who have lost their lives.

“We consequently support The President, the Commander of the Nigerian Armed Forces, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s charge to the security authorities to smoke out the undesirable outlaws who put off the glowing lights of those promising officers and men.”