Tinubu Mourns, Gives National Honour to 17 Soldiers Killed in Delta, Details Emerge
- President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has conferred national honours on the 17 officers and soldiers who were murdered in Delta state earlier in March
- Tinubu announced this at the national military cemetery, Abuja, where the deceased military personnel were buried on Wednesday, March 27
- President Tinubu, who took time to mention the names of the deceased individually, disclosed that the fallen heroes have all been awarded posthumous national honours
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FCT, Abuja - President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, March 27, honoured the late officers of the Nigerian Army who were brutally killed in Okuama, Delta state with national awards.
According to the presidency, all four senior officers were awarded Member of the Order of Nigeria (MON).
Source: Twitter
All 13 soldiers were awarded the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR).
Tinubu also announced approved scholarships to children of fallen soldiers, including the one in the womb, till the university level.
Legit.ng understands that three of the fallen heroes have pregnant wives they left behind.
Tinubu praises Nigerian military
Meanwhile, President Tinubu praised the military for "their restraint in not carrying out vengeance" on innocent members of the Okuama community.
He assured the families of the 17 slain military personnel that the perpetrators and their sponsors would not go unpunished.
Legit.ng reported that some gunmen in Okuama community, on March 14, ambushed and murdered the Commanding Officer of 181 Army Amphibious Battalion, two majors, one captain and several other soldiers.
This prompted various strong reactions among Nigerians.
Delta bloodbath: 'Authorities must arrest perpetrators' - Don
Reacting to the Okuama killing, Sulaimon Adigun Muse, a former head of department of Political Science, Michael Otedola College of Primary Education, Epe, Lagos state, called for the arrest of fleeing perpetrators.
The don condemned the blood-thirsty individuals behind criminal activities in the south-south region.
Muse told Legit.ng:
"It is unfortunate that the soldiers were murdered in that manner and their bodies mutilated. It is a barbaric act.
"These are officers on a peacekeeping mission. They were not on the warpath. They were not in Okuama to side with any of the warring groups but, alas, they were ambushed and brutally killed. These are people who have children; people that have dependants at home.
"I am calling on the relevant security agents to get to the root of this matter, to hunt the killers, and let them face the law."
Read more about Delta attack:
- Killing of soldiers: Video of Obasanjo speaking on Odi massacre in 1999 trends
- Tinubu gives directive to chief of defence staff after deadly Delta attack on soldiers
- "Premeditated": Atiku reacts as scores of Nigerian soldiers are killed in Delta attack
Delta attack: Community leader cautions Nigerians
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that a leader in Ughelli South, Olorogun Sleek Oshare, said “nobody knows” the killers of the 17 soldiers in Okuama, Delta state.
Describing the murder of the security agents as “painful”, the community leader asserted that ‘to start pointing fingers at some people is not fair at this moment’.
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Source: Legit.ng
