Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has ordered the military to arrest the perpetrators of 16 soldiers killed last week during a peacekeeping operation in the country’s south.
The military said in a statement that while responding to clashes between Okuma and Okoroba communities in the oil-rich southern Delta state, they were attacked by some youths from the community.
President Tinubu said one civilian had been killed in what he called a “direct attack on our country. The despicable perpetrators of this heinous crime will not go unpunished,” the President said.“The Headquarters of Defense and the Chief of Defense Staff are vested with full powers to bring to justice those found responsible for this unconscionable crime against the Nigerian people,” he added.
The Nigerian military said on Saturday that investigations were underway and several people had been arrested for killing a commander, two majors, a captain and 12 soldiers during the attack.
In the early hours of Sunday morning, parts of the community were said to have been set on fire by an unknown group as villagers evacuated the area fearing retaliatory attacks from the national army.
Army spokesperson Brigadier General Tukur Gusau said that he was unaware of the latest incident.
However, he stressed that “the military must recover the weapons and weapons taken from the slain soldiers.”
Several people have been killed in repeated disputes between rival communities over land ownership and fishing rights in recent weeks, according to local media.