Suspected residents of the Okuama Community on 14 March ambushed and murdered 17 military personnel in the community, including a commander (a lieutenant colonel), two majors, one captain and 13 soldiers.
The Nigerian army says the hoodlums who killed the military personnel in Delta State also carted away weapons belonging to the slain personnel.
The General Officer Commanding 6 Division of the Nigerian Army, and Joint Task Force, South- South Operation in Delta State, Jamal Abdussalam, disclosed this on Thursday, according to a statement by the spokesperson of the Army Division, Jonah Danjuma, a lieutenant colonel.
The murder
PREMIUM TIMES reported how suspected residents of the Okuama Community on 14 March ambushed and murdered the Commanding Officer of 181 Army Amphibious Battalion, two majors, one captain and 13 soldiers.
The troops were ambushed and killed while responding to a distress call during a clash between Okuama and Okoloba communities in the South-southern state.
The military, on Saturday, said a total of 16 soldiers were killed but on Monday it posted the names and photos of 17 soldiers, including the commander (a lieutenant colonel), two majors, one captain and 13 soldiers.
Army speaks
Speaking when the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Samuel Ogbuku, paid him a condolence visit at the Division's Headquarters in Port Harcourt Barracks on Thursday, Mr Abdussalam, a major general, said troops will be "firm, strong, decisive and professional" in conducting operations to arrest the hoodlums and recover the weapons.
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He said the Chief of Army Staff, Taoreed Lagbaja, issued the directive to the troops carrying out the operation.
The army chief further said the troops would continue to be in the creeks until the hoodlums were arrested and weapons recovered.
He reiterated that "propaganda, arm-twisting, blackmailing, intimidation, and false narratives" would not distract troops from staying on course to achieve their objectives.
Mr Abdussalam called on people of the Niger Delta Region to go about their normal activities.
The army chief appealed to people in the communities to assist the troops with information about the location of the fleeing criminals and the weapons that were carted away from by the hoodlums.
"If we allow criminals to continue to attack our security forces, there will be anarchy," he said.
He stressed that troops would not rest until all the hoodlums involved in the murder of the military personnel were tracked down.
Mr Abdussalam reassured that the operation against the attackers was being conducted in such a way that, going forward, nobody would contemplate attacking military personnel in uniform.
Niger Delta people not in support of the murder
Earlier, Mr Ogbuku, while commiserating with the army chief, said the agency was concerned about the attack.
The NDDC boss said the people of the Niger Delta region are not in support of the murder of the military personnel.
