How Soldiers Were Ambushed, Killed In Delta Community — Major General Esekhaigbe

According to Major General Cecil Esekhaigbe (retd), locals in the Okuama community of Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State ambushed the sixteen military personnel who were brutally killed last Thursday.

During his appearance on Channels Television's The Morning Brief breakfast show on Monday, the retired Army general stated that the soldiers' purpose in the coastal community was not to engage in combat, but rather to ascertain the reason behind their colleagues' hostage-taking while on a peace-keeping mission.

According to General Esekhaigbe, not a single soldier would have died if the soldiers had arrived in Okuama prepared.

The slain military personnel responded to a distress call after the communal crisis between the Okuama and Okoloba communities, both in Delta State, before they were killed on Thursday, March 14, 2024.

The beheaded corpses of the slain soldiers were later recovered from a neigbouring rivers, while the stomachs and hearts of others were ripped off.

President Bola Tinubu, the Senate, the 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.

However, over the weekend, some angry soldiers patrolling the creeks allegedly razed the village after their colleagues were killed, even as residents of the coastal community fled to neighboring Ughelli.

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, who condemned the killing of the soldiers, has since faulted the military’s reprisal, saying innocent people cannot be attacked, even in a war situation.