Senate to Probe Killing of Military Personnel in Delta
POLITICS DIGEST – The Senate on Tuesday mandated its committees on Army , Navy and Airforce , to liaise with the Military for thorough investigation on gruesome killings of some officers and men of Nigerian Army in Okuoma Community , Delta State on Thursday last week.
In honouring the memories of the four officers and 12 Soldiers killed , the Senate held a minute silence for them, but rejected motion to do so for civilian casualties just as the President of the Senate , Godswill Akpabio declared that perpetrators of the heinous crime , were not from Niger Delta .
But the Senate in other far reaching resolutions taken on the dastardly act , urged the Federal Government to apprehend the killers and bring them to justice .
It also urged the Federal Government to hasten recruitment and training of more Police personnel towards relieving the Army from internal security matters .
Senate’s resolutions followed separate motions sponsored by Senators Abdulaziz Yar’Adua ( APC Katsina Central) and Ede Dafinone ( APC Delta Central) , on killing of four officers and 12 Soldiers by ethnic militias in Okuoma village , Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State .
Senator Yar’Adua in his motion described the act as despicable , barbaric and unacceptable .
“The Officers comprising of a Lt – Colonel , two Majors , and a Captain along with 12 Soldiers , were not only killed by the local militias but had their bodies multilated .
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“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.
Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau I. Jibrin in contribution to debate said “What happened is despicable. It is inhuman and it is something that cannot be accepted. We need to commensurate with the Nigerian Armed Forces and indeed the entire nation, to condole the immediate families of the fallen heroes and the Nigerian military for what happened.
“These were men that were trained by the Nigerian government and huge resources spent on them to defend the territorial integrity of this country and keep us safe as nation.
“Now, they were killed for no no reason; not at a time of conflict, not at the war front, they were just murdered in the worst fashion that you can think about.”
Continuing he said it should be condemned, “what happened is inhuman and no stone should be left unturned in trying to find out the culprits who are responsible and they must face justice and this should never happen again in this country.
“The military is doing their best trying to deal with kidnappers, bandits and a host of others challenges, trying to make us safe and now some people decided to go and murder these people and I believe that it is something that we should all condemn and proffer solutions to.
“The Senate should condemn in its entirety , the dastardly act and adopt prayers proposed as resolutions “, he said .
” What happened in Okuoma Community in Delta State last Thursday was very bad as regards the killing of the military personnel . An enquiry needs to be conducted by the Senate for us to have totality of facts on what happened before proceeding to moral equivalence in form of minute silence for innocent civilians “, he said.
