The Army last night requested the Okuoma community in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State to identify those who killed its officers and men.
It also released the names of those slain.
The Army, in a post captioned “Rest in Peace our Fallen Heroes” on its X-handle, put their number at 17 and not 16 as widely reported by the media.
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) also re-twitted the list.
The list contains the names of four officers and 13 soldiers.
These are Lt. Col. A.H Ali, Maj Safa, Maj D.E Obi, and Cap U. Zakari.
The soldiers are Staff Sergeant Yahaya Saidu, Corporal Yahaya Danbaba, Corporal Kabir Bashir, Lance Corporals Bulus Haruna, Sole Opeyemi, Bello Anas, Haman Peter and Ibrahim Abdullahi.
The rest are Privates Alhaji Isah, Clement Francis, Abubakar Ali, Ibrahim Adamu and Adamu Ibrahim.
The officers and soldiers were on a peace mission when youths believed to be Okuoma indigenes ambushed and murdered them.
Outrage greeted the dastardly act from Nigerians, who viewed the situation as unbecoming.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who on Sunday expressed deep displeasure over their killings, ordered the military to immediately arrest the perpetrators.
He said: “The Defence Headquarters(DHQ) and Chief of Defence Staff (Gen. Christopher Musa) have been granted full authority to bring to justice anybody found to have been responsible for this unconscionable crime against the Nigerian people.”
DHQ, Army rule out reprisal, warn against propaganda
Before the names and pictures of the slain operatives were released, the Army and the DHQ, in separate statements, warned against the deployment of propaganda by some unscrupulous elements to sway the public against the military.
They dismissed rumours of reprisal on the troubled community, saying such was not in contemplation.
Defence Spokesman Maj. Gen. Edward Buba and his Army counterpart Onyema Nwachukwu stated these in the statements.
Nwachukwu said that even though the murder of the troops was communally orchestrated, the propaganda would not prevent the military from complying with the President’s order for the arrest of all persons involved in the crime.
Nwachukwu, therefore, advised the public to disregard the “ridiculous attempt at justifying their crime.”
He said: “There is a clear indication that the murder of the troops was a communally orchestrated attack against legitimate forces.
“The falsehood being peddled by these criminals and their cohorts to whip up sentiments and sway the public to cover up, endorse or support the outrageous criminal acts of their armed youth gang should be disregarded in its entirety.
“It is only a ridiculous attempt at justifying their crime, rather than turning in themselves to security agencies. No amount of propaganda would arm-twist the narrative, they are complicit and must be ready to face the wrath of the law.”
Nwachukwu, however, enjoined innocent people in the community to go about their normal activities, “even as ongoing efforts are scaled up to positively identify and isolate the criminals to account for their atrocious deeds.”
He said that Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja had since commiserated with the families of the deceased officers and soldiers.
“The COAS has directed that no stone should be left unturned until the perpetrators of these gruesome acts are apprehended to face the full wrath of the law.
“Troops are determined to get to these criminals, there is certainly no hiding place for them,” the Army spokesman added.
Buba also warned those peddling the “misinformation, disinformation and fake news” on reprisal on Okuoma to desist from further dishonouring the fallen heroes.
He said: “It behoves the community leaders, elders and even the people of Delta State to assist in the investigation to identify the perpetrators of the dastardly act so that they can be held accountable for their actions.
“The senseless and barbaric killings of these men is a tragedy. They were killed in a dehumanised and unspeakable manner.
“Accordingly, on behalf of the CDS, Gen CG Musa, the Armed Forces mourns the loss of these gallant troops who paid the supreme sacrifice for the nation.
“We console their families, colleagues and loved ones over the tragic incident. They have died trying to restore peace in the nation.
“It is necessary to reiterate that both the Constitution and the Armed Forces Act saddled the military with the responsibility of the protection of sovereignty and territorial integrity of our nation.
“Accordingly, the armed forces consist of citizens from every nook and cranny of the nation who have taken an oath of allegiance to put themselves in harm’s way to defend our great country.
“Given the ongoing security situation across the country, troops are deployed on internal security operations in about all the states of the federation. Troops intervene to de-escalate and contain tense situations.
“However, the ugly incident in Okuama Community in Delta State is indicative of the dangers our gallant troops experience in order to secure our nation.
“The military assures that there would be measured responses and injurious consequences for the perpetrators of these dastardly acts.
“Nevertheless, the Armed Forces being a disciplined force that complies with rules of engagement, laws of armed conflict and the respect for human rights would be tempered by these provisions.
“We would not be led by emotions, but by the rule of law. It is against this background that the military debunks all claims that the military embarked on reprisal in the Okuama community after the incident. The community was deserted even before troops arrived at the scene.
“Overall, there is no doubt that this is an extremely sad development and untoward activity by members of the Okuama community against troops that were there to protect them.
“We urge the public to resist the temptation of allowing any videos of the incident of the killed personnel from going viral.
“Their loved ones are still alive, even though they have died protecting our country and its citizens.”
