There is, perhaps, no other incident in recent time that has evoked sorrow and emotions among Nigerians as the killing of soldiers by warring youths of Okuoma community of Delta state. Initial reports put the number at 16 but their picture collage indicated that they were 17. The gravity of the loss has in a way, overtaken the anger in the land over the allegations of padding the 2024 budget by the national assembly and mindless appropriation of the commonweal by senators.
Since the incident, soldiers have reportedly been on rampage, setting houses ablaze in Okuoma and making some arrests, in retaliation. Some members of the community have allegedly by killed by the irate military personnel. The invasion was triggered by the murder of 12 personnel of the Nigerian Police by a suspected criminal gang near Odi. In revenge, the military moved against the village but ran into an ambush resulting to exchange of fire with armed gangs accused of using the civilian population as cover. Subsequent developments led to the attack on the civilian population and buildings in the town.
As it is always the case when such unusual occurrences take place, many in high offices are releasing statements condemning the killing of the soldiers and demanding appropriate punishment for the brains behind the barbaric act. President Bola Tinubu and Delta State governor, Sheriff Oborevwori have vowed that the perpetrators will not go unpunished. “The cowardly offenders responsible for this heinous crime will not go unpunished”, Tinubu threatened in a statement by his media office.
The international conventions on military-civilian relations which Nigeria subscribes to, must be fully adhered to, here. It will be difficult to assume that the cowards that carried out the Okuoma killings would still be in their various homes in the community. But it is only a thorough investigation that can established what must have happened and the roles played by the individual members involved.