President Bola Tinubu, alongside governors, federal lawmakers, high-ranking military officials, dignitaries, as well as families and friends of the 17 military personnel who were brutally slain in Delta State, gathered Wednesday evening to lay wreaths in their honor.
President Tinubu served as the Special Guest of Honour at the solemn ceremony held at the National Military Cemetery in Abuja.
These soldiers met their tragic end at the hands of suspected militants in the riverine Okuoma village on March 14, 2024, while they were engaged in a peace mission between the warring communities of Okuama and Okoloba in the region.
The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa; Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Taoreed Lagbaja; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar and Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla were present to pay final respects to the fallen heroes.
The Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau; and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas led members of the both upper and lower chambers to honour the slain military personnel
Governors Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta), Duoye Diri (Bayelsa), Usman Ododo (Kogi), Uba Sani (Kaduna), Hope Uzodimma (Imo), and Abba Yusuf (Kano) were present alongside other members of their state executives.
The President joined the solemn assembly at exactly 04:10 pm in “honour of our men of gallantry and valor” who paid the supreme price.
The slain military personnel responded to a distress call after a communal land dispute when they were gruesomely murdered.
The beheaded corpses of the slain soldiers were later recovered from a neigbouring rivers, while the stomachs and hearts of others were ripped off.
The Defence Headquarters later released the list of 17 military personnel killed in the attack.
The Defence Headquarters said 17 personnel including the Commanding Officer of 181 Amphibious Battalion, two majors, one captain, and 12 personnel of the battalion were killed.
The gruesome murder has continued to draw condemnation from authorities in Nigeria. Tinubu described it as an attack on the nation and gave marching orders to security agencies to fish out the masterminds of the attack. The President also said the slain military personnel will be conferred with national honours.
The Senate, host Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, as well as civil society organisations have condemned the gruesome murder of the soldiers and called for the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators.
President Tinubu, ministers of defence, Abbas, Jubrin, state governors, the service chiefs laid wreaths at the occasion.