Nigerian authorities have published the identities of the 17 soldiers slain in Delta State last Thursday as the Armed Forces of Nigeria began a three-day mourning for the fallen heroes.
The photos and names of the military officers were posted on the official page of the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) on X yesterday. The DHQ named the slain commander of the team as Lt. Col. A.H. Ali. The two majors are S.D. Shafa and D.E. Obi while the army captain is U. Zakari. The army also named the other 13 slain soldiers.
Nigerian military authorities announced the killing of the soldiers on Saturday. On Sunday morning, many houses in Okuama community were razed, allegedly by retaliating soldiers.
It is not clear how many people died in that incident as many residents of the community had reportedly fled to a neighbouring community for fear of retaliation by soldiers. The military denied on Monday that soldiers carried out the retaliatory attacks.
—Ezinwanne Onwuka reports for TruthNigeria from Abuja.
