Names of 17 soldiers killed in Delta

The Nigerian Army has made public the names of 17 soldiers killed in a shocking attack in Delta State last week.

The troops of 181 Amphibious Battalion were killed in an ambush while on a mission in Okuama community in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta on Thursday, March 14, 2024.

The military has reported they were on a "peaceful and mediatory mission" in response to a reported communal clash between the community and Okoloba in Bomadi LGA of Delta.

The Nigerian Army is not fond of publicly disclosing the identity of fallen personnel, especially in the case of mass casualties, but it made an exception for the Okuama victims in a publication on Monday, March 18.

While initial official government statements had reported 16 dead, the Army posted the names and images of 17 casualties late on Monday.

Names of fallen soldiers in Delta:

Lt Col AH Ali
Maj SD Shafa
Maj DE Obi
Capt U Zakari
SSgt Yahaya Saidu
Cpl Yahaya Danbaba
Cpl Kabiru Bashir
LCpl Bulus Haruna
LCpl Sole Opeyemi
LCpl Bello Anas
LCpl Hamman Peter
LCpl Ibrahim Abdullahi
Pte Alhaji Isah
Pte Clement Francis
Pte Abubakar Ali
Pte Ibrahim Adamu
Pte Adamu Ibrahim

Army vows to hunt down attackers

In his reaction to the attack on Sunday, March 17, President Bola Tinubu granted "full authority" to the military to bring anybody found to have been responsible for the attack to justice.

In a separate statement earlier on Monday, Army spokesperson, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, said efforts are ongoing to carry out the directive.

"Troops are determined to get to these criminals, there is certainly no hiding place for them," he said.