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From Molly Kilete, Abuja
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ), on Friday said it has recovered the decomposing hearts of some of the soldiers killed by irate youths at Okuama, community on March 14.
The recovery according to the DHQ, was made during a clearance operation, as well as a cordon-and-search conducted in some communities to, among other things, recover the weapons of the deceased soldiers.
Director, Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, who made this known, listed some of the communities where the clearance operations took place to include: Akugbene, Ukuama and Okoloba communities in Ugheli and Ugheli South of Delta State. Others are: Ukuama Amusamo, Akwagbe, Arhavwarien, Pirigbene and Igbomatoro.
Buba in a statement called on the Delta State Government and the people of Okuama community to help in fishing out those behind the brutal killings of officers and soldiers in the community.
The military personnel who were in the community on a peacekeeping mission to resolve communal clash over a land dispute in Bomadi and Okuama communities in the state were murdered by irate youths.
Buba urged the people of the state not to conceal the whereabouts of the perpetrators of the crime.
“The decomposing hearts of some of the killed soldiers were recovered during the search, while the manhunt continued with no significant arrest yet made.
“Significantly, there is a viral video of persons admitting to have perpetrated the killings of the soldiers in Delta State. The video, among other things, helps to narrow investigations to persons of interest and their cohorts.
“Accordingly, the state governments and host communities of these personalities are required to assist in flushing them out. There can be no hiding place for perpetrators of such dastardly act against our nation. This is a clarion call to duty by members of those communities and the state governments,” Buba said.
The DMO director, who also spoke on military operations conducted in the last one week across the country, said troops rescued several kidnapped hostages, reunited them with their loved ones and disrupted untoward activities of terrorists, thereby preventing them from carrying out acts of terror or harming citizens.
