The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa said the Nigerian Army has identified the person responsible for the attack and killing of the troops from the 181 Battalion in Okuama community in Delta State.
Musa stated this while giving an address in Abuja on Friday.
He noted that the Army is following up with the suspected culprit, and it is only a matter of time before he is caught.
The CDS said that the Commanding officer of the 181 Amphibious Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel AH Ali, had been targeted for trying to put an end to illegal oil bunkering in the area.
Musa said, “We know who did this, we are following up with him, and it’s just a matter of time, we are sure we are going to get him.”
Explaining the reason behind the attack, the CDS said, “I know him, the CO himself, Lieutenant Colonel Ali, of recent, because we were emphasising, we want the oil production of Nigeria to increase so that we will be able to have enough foreign exchange, and then things can really go down because we all know the challenges we are going through.
“And so, he insisted that all illegal activities within the general area must stop. So, he directed all his troops and they were stopping all these illegal bunkering, stopping all these things, and then these are the people benefitting from it.
“And so, when this issue came, it came as an opportunity for them to also go and do away with him, and that’s exactly what happened.”
Speaking on what led to the unfortunate tragedy, Musa said, “Basically, it was a community clash that was happening and those are his own area of responsibilities, and that was why he responded when initially, his soldiers, some soldiers were apprehended by the communities.
“We know that because of these issues of bunkering, we have a lot of pirates, militants that are still operating in the area, and they have a lot of funding because of the area at which it’s been carried out. So, they always have a lot of arms with them.
“These are people they know and that’s why when he heard it, he felt that these are my community, these are the people I know, and he went to say, oh, this thing that you’re doing is not right, whatever it is within the community;
“…we can do it, invite the stakeholders, let them come and handle it in a single mission and all these things, and the community said okay. And as they turned to go, they were rounding up, killed, not only killed, they were dismembered.
The general then said, “And I don’t know what kind of, for a human being to go to that extent to go for people that came on a peaceful means, then that’s something that must be looked at.”