The National Military Cemetery in Abuja has become the final resting place for 17 military personnel who tragically lost their lives in Okuama, Delta on March 14. Their remains were brought to the cemetery around 2:26pm on Wednesday, transported by Military Ambulance Emergency vehicles and FCT Ambulance Emergency services.
The solemn ceremony was attended by top military officials including the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa; Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Taoreed Lagbaja; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar, and Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla. Political figures such as Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau; and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas were also present.
Governors Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta), Duoye Diri (Bayelsa), Usman Ododo (Kogi), Uba Sani (Kaduna), Hope Uzodimma (Imo), and Abba Yusuf (Kano) were among the early arrivals at the burial site. President Bola Tinubu joined the mourners at exactly 04:10pm.
The ceremony was also attended by grieving family members and relatives of the deceased personnel, as well as the wives of other military officers.
The deceased were part of the 181 Amphibious Battalion, Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State. They were on a peace mission in Okuoma Community when they were ambushed and killed by some irate youths. The incident happened when the troops were responding to a distress call following a communal crisis between the Okuoma and Okoloba communities in Delta State.
The fallen heroes included one Lieutenant Colonel, two Majors, one Captain, and 13 soldiers. The officers were Lt. Col. A.H Ali, Maj S.D Shafa, Maj D.E Obi, and Capt U Zakari. The soldiers were SSgt Yahaya Saidu, Cpl Yahaya Danbaba, Cpl Kabiru Bashir, LCpl Bulus Haruna, LCpl Sola Opeyemi, LCpl Bello Anas, LCpl Hamman Peter, LCpl Ibrahim Abdullahi, Pte Alhaji Isah, Pte Clement Francis, Pte Abubakar Ali, Pte Ibrahim Adamu, and Pte Adamu Ibrahim.
