Killers Of 16 Soldiers May Be Mercenaries, Not Nigerians – Akpabio

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, on Tuesday, said those involved in the killing of soldiers in Delta State may be foreigners.

Some armed men had on Thursday, March 14, attacked and killed 15 personnel of the Nigerian Army during a peace mission to Okuama Community in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State.

Speaking on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, during a debate on two merged motions by Senators Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, APC, Katsina Central, and Edeh Dafinone, APC, Delta Central, Akpabio opined that those who killed the soldiers may be mercenaries.

He said, “We are not at war. I don’t think they are from the Niger Delta. They may be mercenaries.”

The Senate thereafter ordered the probe into the killings as it has asked its Committee on Defence, Army, Navy, and Air Force to liaise with the Military authorities to get more information on the remote and immediate cause of what it described as “a dastardly act.”

The Red Chamber further called on the Federal Government to apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to book, just as it observed a minute silence in the honour of those killed.

It also called for the recruitment of more policemen so that the military would not be dragged into civil matters.