Tinubu Confers National Honours On Slain Soldiers, Promises Houses, Awards Scholarships To Their Children

President Bola Tinubu has conferred posthumous national honours on the seventeen soldiers who were killed in the Okuama community of Delta state.

The awards were presented at a solemn burial ceremony held at the National Cemetery in Abuja on Wednesday, March 27, 2024.

According to a post by Dada Olusegun, the special assistant to President Tinubu on social media, the four ranking officers among the deceased were awarded the Member of the Order of Niger (MON), while the remaining thirteen officers were bestowed with the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON).

During his speech at the burial ceremony, President Tinubu announced that the families of the fallen soldiers would receive housing anywhere they choose within the country, as well as full educational scholarships for their children up to the university level, including those still in the womb of their mothers. He also appealed to the Military Pensions Board to ensure that all emoluments due to the deceased soldiers are paid within 90 days.

Meanwhile, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-General Taoreed Lagbaja, has assured the family members of slain soldiers killed in the Okuoma community of Delta State of maximum support.

The COAS stated this on Wednesday when the 17 military personnel were buried at the National Military Cemetery, Abuja.

The soldiers were murdered by vicious residents of the riverine Okuoma village on March 14, 2024 when the men in uniform were on a peace mission to warring Okuama and Okoloba communities in the area.

The COAS described the killing of the soldiers as “most barbaric”, saying it took 72 hours after the unfortunate incident to recover the mutilated bodies of the slain soldiers.

Lt-General Lagbaja reiterated the Army’s commitment to bring the perpetrators of the heinous crime to book and recover all missing weapons.

He said three of the widows of the slain soldiers are pregnant. He assured the families of the fallen soldiers of maximum supports from the Nigerian Army.

He said, “The Okuoma killing has added to the care of the Nigerian Army and by extension, the Nigerian State, 10 widows, three of whom are four, five and eight months’ pregnant, 21 orphans and many other dependents which include parents.

“While commiserating with the families of these gallants soldiers, I assure them that the Nigerian Army and the good people of this country will not leave them in the cold.”

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa; Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-General Taoreed Lagbaja; Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar, and Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla were present to pay final respects for the fallen heroes.

The Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau; and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas led members of the both upper and lower chambers to honour the slain military personnel.

Bodies of slain military personnel arrived the National Military Cemetery, Abuja for burial on Wednesday, March 27, 2024. Photo: Channels Television/Sodiq Adelakun

Governors Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta), Duoye Diri (Bayelsa), Usman Ododo (Kogi), Uba Sani (Kaduna), Hope Uzodimma (Imo), and Abba Yusuf (Kano) were conspicuously present alongside other members of their state executives.

The President joined the solemn assembly at exactly 04:10pm in “honour of our men of gallantry and valor” who paid the supreme price.

After the opening processions, prayers, laying of military accoutrements on caskets which housed the remains of the slain soldiers, and the sound of the bugle, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-General Taoreed Lagbaja, mourned the “gallant heroes”, saying it is highy demoralising that the citizens the soldiers tried to protect ended up killing them.