16 Soldiers Murdered in Southern Nigeria

On Saturday, Nigerian media was awash with the news of the killing of 16 soldiers in the oil-producing southern Delta state, an act President Bola Tinubu has described as “wicked.”

The soldiers were reportedly on a mission to stop a conflict over land disputes between Okuama and Okoloba communities in Bomadi county in Delta. The conflict led to the kidnapping of a local from Okoloba by the Okuama community.

A team of Nigerian Army officers were sent to Okuama last Wednesday, March 13 to broker peace between the warring communities and were attacked by the locals after a deadlocked meeting on Thursday.

The commander of the team, Lt. Col. A.H. Ali, two army major generals, one captain, and 12 soldiers were killed in the attack, army spokesperson Brigadier General Tukur Gusau said on Saturday.

“So far, a few arrests have been made while steps are in place to unravel the motive behind the attack,” he added. President Tinubu has assured that the “cowardly offenders responsible for this heinous crime will not go unpunished.”

Following the killings, the Okuama community was attacked on Saturday afternoon by unknown persons and houses were burnt. No group has taken responsibility for the attack but there are speculations that some angry soldiers may be behind this as revenge for the killing of their colleagues.

—Ezinwanne Onwuka reports for TruthNigeria from Abuja.