The House of Representatives has requested that military authorities look into the killing of 17 personnel in the Okuoma community, Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State.
Seventeen soldiers assigned to the Delta community for a peace mission died unexpectedly last Thursday in an ambush.
A urgent matter titled “Need to investigate and apprehend perpetrators of the gruesome killing of 17 military personnel in Delta State” was brought up on Tuesday by Babajimi Benson, the member representing Ikorodu Federal Constituency, on the floor of the House, describing the incident as senseless and unfortunate.
He remembered that the fallen heroes “were only responding to a distress call in their service to their country when they were ambushed and killed on Thursday.”
He said, “The perpetrators of this dreadful act not only stopped at killing these military personnel but also went ahead to sacrilegiously degrade their remains by ripping out their hearts and other body parts.”
The House acknowledged that if the killings are not stopped, they could reduce the morale of the military and affect the fight against insecurity, “which has so far recorded some successes.”
After the motion was adopted, the House paid tribute to the dead and instructed the Armed Forces of Nigeria “To conduct a thorough and comprehensive investigation into the circumstances that led to this heartless, gruesome and despicable act and work with the relevant authorities to bring all perpetrators and their collaborators to book.”
It also mandated the Committee on Defence to communicate with the Armed Forces of Nigeria to ensure compliance and report to the House within four weeks.
