By Daniel Dafe
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi has described the killing of 22 military men on Saturday in Delta State as barbaric and totally unacceptable and should not be tolerated by Nigerians and any sane society.
Obi, who said this in a statement on Sunday, added: “For a nation already combatting a high level of insecurity, the killing of our security personnel who put their lives on the line for the security of the nation will be too much of a burden to bear.”
He said: “These sad occurrences and many cases of killing, kidnappings and violent crimes around the country, have continued to fuel very deep concerns over the security of the nation.”
Obi who recalled that just last week, several policemen were reportedly killed while on duty in the state, said: “We were still recovering from the shock over such a sad occurrence when yesterday, we were besieged with the gory reports of the killing of 22 officers and men of the Nigerian Army, also in Delta State.”
Adding: “In both sad incidents, the dead security personnel were on active duties of securing and keeping peace within our communities, state and country before their unfortunate end, even by the people they were trying to help.”
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He said further: “These security operatives are making a lot of sacrifices in their line of duty, and in some cases pay the supreme price. We must therefore appreciate and value them by showing empathy towards them and ensuring healthcare for those who are wounded.
“There should be adequate compensation and welfare packages for the families of those who die in active service. All of us should always show our love by commiserating with their families and even visiting them in such difficult times.”
Furthermore, he condoled with the families of the security personnel that died, and their security formations over the sad loss of their personnel, just as he encouraged them not to be dispirited by these ugly developments but see it as a challenge to increase their efforts in their duties.
Meanwhile, he urged the government and security agencies to leave no stone unturned in investigating, arresting and prosecuting those behind these ugly acts.
He prayed: “May God grant eternal rest to all the security officers who have lost their lives fighting for the peace and security of our nation. May God grant all of us the fortitude to bear this sad irreplaceable loss.”
