A retired Army Major General, Cecil Esekhaigbe, has revealed that the 16 military personnel who were brutally killed last Thursday in the Okuama community of Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State were ambushed by residents of the community.
The killing of the 16 soldiers has since sparked outrage in the country, with President Bola Tinubu calling for a manhunt of the perpetrators.
Speaking during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Monday, Maj. Gen. Esekhaigbe stated that the personnel were on a peacekeeping mission to find out why some soldiers sent earlier were held hostage.
He further stated that if the soldiers had been prepared to fight when they went to Okuama, none of them would have been killed.
His words: “We must understand that the mindset of these men was not to go and fight but for a peacekeeping mission, and to find out why the soldiers sent earlier were held hostage. Their mentality was not to go for an attack. If they were going for an attack, even as few as they were, you wouldn’t be able to surround them and dastardly murder them as they did.
“What happened was that they fell into an ambush, and of course, these militia groups have sophisticated weapons. At that level, when you’re ambushed, no matter how sophisticated you are, you will fall. Of course, this calls for the need for training and retraining because you must know the local areas in which you’re operating.”
Speaking further, he blamed the rising insecurity on the proliferation of arms, drug abuse, and others. He also charged the National Orientation Agency (NOA) on campaigns against killings.
He said, “The factors of insecurity are: first, the proliferation of small arms and light weapons; second, the menace of drug abuse; and finally, the lack of governance in these states.
“I heard there’s a small arms and light weapons centre domiciled in the NSA’s office. What are they bringing on board? You don’t domicile something and have it in an office; they are supposed to come out and go to these places and retrieve these weapons. We must rebuild our institution, not just set up a centre.
“The National Orientation Agency (NOA) must be up and running to reorient our psyche. This hatred and killing of people unnecessarily should also be addressed.”
“Also, state governors have humongous security votes. Then what are you doing with it? When the basic life of your community is threatened, communal clashes happen everywhere without a meaningful response.”
He also dismissed reports that the Nigerian army would carry out a reprisal attack on the community; rather, the army is there to cordon off the place and retrieve their lost weapons. “The Nigerian army is a professional outfit, and there are rules of engagement,” he added.