• Senate urges probe, Reps condemn act
From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, yesterday, said those involved in the killing of soldiers in Okuama community in Bomadi Local Government Area, last week, may be foreigners.
The Okuama community allegedly killed 17 military personnel, including a Lt Col, two majors, a captain and 14 soldiers.
Akpabio said the entire Senate and the Nigerian society were concerned about the ugly incident. “We condemn this dastardly act. It portends danger for the entire society. Every single culprit involved must be brought out to face the full wrath of the law. This is not acceptable in any sane society in the world.”
Speaking, yesterday, during a debate on two merged motions by Senators Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, All Progressives Congress (APC), Katsina Central, and Edeh Dafinone, APC, Delta Central, Akpabio opined that those who killed the soldiers may be mercenaries. “We are not at war. I don’t think they are from the Niger Delta. They may be mercenaries.”
The Senate, after that, ordered a probe into the killings, to get more information on the remote and immediate cause of what it described as “a dastardly act.”
The Red Chamber further called on the Federal Government to apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to book, just as it observed a minute silence in honour of those killed.The Senate, however, rejected a prayer to observe a minute silence or to commiserate with the families of innocent civilians killed in the process, saying that the number of those killed was still unknown.
Also, the House of Representatives, condemned the killing of officers and men of the Nigerian Army. The House mandated its Committee on Defence to investigate the circumstances surrounding the killings and urged the armed forces to work with relevant authorities, to bring those behind the dastardly act and their collaborators to book.
The committee is expected to report back to the House within four weeks for further legislative action.
This followed the adoption of a motion by Babajimi Benson on the need to “investigate and apprehend perpetrators of the gruesome killing of 17 military personnel in Delta State.”
Babajimi, in his lead debate, expressed worry over the incident. He stated that unless such attacks on the military by the people they are meant to protect is stopped, it would continue to hamper the war against insecurity in the country.
The lawmaker said “the murdered military personnel included Lt. Col. A.H. Ali, who was the Commanding Officer, 181 Amphibious Battalion of the Nigerian Army, Major S.D Shafa, Major D.E Obi, Captain U. Zakari and 13 other rank and file of the Nigerian military.
“The fallen soldiers were on a peaceful and mediatory mission to quell communal clashes between Okuama and Okoloba Communities in Ughelli South and Bomadi LGAs of Delta State, respectively, when the horrific incident occurred.”
He added: “These military personnel were only responding to a distress call in their service to their fatherland when they were ambushed and killed, on Thursday. The perpetrators of this heinous act did not only stop at killing these military personnel but, also, went ahead to sacrilegiously debase their remains by ripping out their hearts and other body parts.”