…… Awards Houses, Scholarships To families of Deceased..
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu says his administration will do all it takes to bring killers of the 17 soldiers to justice.
The president gave the assurance at the funeral of the deceased soldiers at the Military Cemetery in Abuja on Wednesday.
Tinubu,who described the soldiers as ” noble men who gave their lives” to protect the nation and its people lamented that the lives of the soldiers were brutally brought to an end while on a mission to end festering hostilities in the communities.
” They will forever be remembered as heroes who answered the call to duty and paid the ultimate price”
The president also announced a posthumous national award for the fallen heroes
The deceased team leader,Lt col Ali and 3 other senior officers were given the Member of the Order Of the Niger Award ( MON) while the 13 others were awarded Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic.( OFR).
The president also awarded houses to the families of the deceased and awarded scholarships to the children of the fallen soldiers including” children in the womb” up to university level.
He acknowledged the role of the Military in safeguarding the nation’s democracy and urged that innocent people in the communities are spared even as he urged the Okuama community leaders to fish out perpetrators of the dastardly act.
President Tinubu who empathised with the family said ‘ he shared their pain and directed the military to pay the benefits of the fallen soldiers within the next 90 days.
In his remarks, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa described the soldiers as ” Vanguards of Peace and sentinel of security ‘ whose lives were taken on line of duty while on a peace mission.
He told the bereaved families ” Please know that you are not alone in your grief”
To the soldiers he said ” You served bravely and your courage shall never be forgotten”
He urged Nigerians to use the moment to rally round the military in its task of securing the country
The CDS said that the commitment to duty of the deceased soldiers was commendable and warned their killers ” We will hunt you down. We will bring you to justice” adding anyone found aiding the perpetrators would “face the music”.
He assured that the armed forces will not be deferred by the unfortunate incident but remains focused in ensuring peace and unity of Nigeria.
Earlier in his remarks, the Chief of Army Staff ( CoAS) Major- General Taoreed Lagbaja expressed sadness that the troops were” gruesomely murdered “by the very people they swore to protect saying “it is demoralising”t
He noted that although the military profession deals with matters of life and death,, the killing of the officers and soldiers on a mission to achieve truce is the most barbaric act adding that the deceased left 10 widows with 4 pregnant and 21 orphans.
General Lagbaja said the army will not relent in bringing the perpetrators to book.
Other highlights of the funeral were the presentation of the National flags to the deceased next of kin, laying of wreaths by President Tinubu,Governors, Members of the National Assembly and others and traditional gun salute and prayers.
