Crisis: We’ve Never Lost Soldiers Like That, Laments Clark
AT least three of the suspects that allegedly killed 17 officers and men of 181 Amphibious Battalion of the Nigerian Army in Delta State, last Thursday, March 14, have been reportedly arrested and moved to the Army headquarters in Asaba, the state capital.
This was even as Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, vowed that whoever was responsible for the heinous act would be brought to justice.
Similarly, elder statesman and leader of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Edwin Clark, condemned the killings, lamenting that Nigeria had never witnessed such a tragedy, which he described as shocking, barbaric and wicked, before.
Clark charged the communities and military to work together to unmask the culprits and appealed to soldiers to act with restraint and not take law in their own hands, saying with modern technology, they should be able to fish out those who committed the crime very soon.
Speaking on a television programme on Tuesday, March 19, Clark stated: “What happened a few days ago is very shocking, very barbaric and wicked. I think what is required really is for the military, together with the communities and all of us to take that task to look for these people who committed this murder. It is very very important.
“In fact, I was so sad when I heard that Lt-Col. Ali was involved, because on Thursday, March 14, I spoke to him about 8:45 about my dead younger brother, Col. Bernard Clark (rtd), who died recently and was to be buried on Friday to have a military burial.
“I had to contact him and he told me he was in a vehicle and that he would speak to me later, only to hear that he was among them. At that time, he was speaking to me from Agbor in Delta State.
“There’s another one, Major B. I spoke to him about the same time on Wednesday, March 13. So, I am indeed very sad that we should lose such people at a time like this. Even in the Boko Haram war, we have never lost soldiers like that.
“We all support Mr. President when he said the people should be looked for,” he said.
Reiterating his appeal to the military to act with restraint while going after the perpetrators to avoid inflicting more collateral damage, Clark added: “My appeal to our gallant soldiers is that they should act maturely and not take the law in their own hands. I know they are provoked; we are all provoked. There are innocent children, pregnant women everywhere.
“As far as I am concerned, we should appeal to the military to take it easy. They have all the modern technology; they should be able to fish out very soon those who committed this crime.
“One should not blame the Army so much for whatever must have happened; it’s all collateral damages.”
Clark said it is difficult to believe that the killings were carried out by mercenaries, as suggested by Akpabio, even as he insisted that leaders of the various communities involved in the incident must be questioned and nobody should be treated as sacred cow.
He said: “Well that is difficult to believe. I don’t think we should expect this thing. Let’s look at ourselves. As I said, I spoke to the Lt-Col on Thursday and he went to the place on Thursday and died.
“Except they had information they were going to Okuama, otherwise nobody knew they were going there.
“People to come from outside to waylay them, to surround them is a matter they should investigate. We can’t rule anything out, but at the same time let us look at ourselves.
“The leaders of the various communities must be brought together and find out from them, nobody should be treated as a sacred cow.
“I am an Ijaw man and I will be the last person to allow this type of matter to degenerate to a situation whereby we have inter-communal fracas or fight.”
Akpabio, while presiding over a plenary session on Tuesday, March 19, in Abuja, during a debate on two merged motions by Senators Abdulaziz Yar’Adua and Ede Dafinone, said those responsible could be mercenaries. He said this .
Dafinone, who represents Delta Central, the district covers the incident, had raised a motion calling for relief and assistance to victims of the attack.
But Akpabio interjected, telling the lawmaker not to conclude yet, adding: “I don’t want you to conclude. I don’t believe these people are from the Niger Delta, those who did the killings.
“With respect to men and women in uniform, that is why I am saying that your additional prayers should actually be ‘to carry out a thorough investigation to know whether these people were mercenaries from outside Niger Delta who came to commit.
“I don’t think these people are Niger Deltans. We are not at war. Even in a period of war, you do not lose such number of personnel. No community will go to the extent of doing this kind of thing. I don’t think they are from Niger Delta.”
