Burials have taken place for seventeen Nigerian soldiers including a senior commander killed by a group of youth in the southern state of Delta.
The killing of the military personnel on March 14 sparked outrage in the country and highlighted what President Bola Tinubu the risks security forces were facing in their task of ensuring peace and security.
The troops were deployed in the Bomadi area of Delta state to intervene in communal clashes when they "were surrounded by some community youths and killed,'' the military had said.
Their bodies were dismembered by the killers. The Nigerian military has declared eight people wanted for their alleged involvement in the killings.
"On behalf of a grateful nation, we honour the sacrifice of Lt. Colonel A.H. Ali and the other gallant patriots who died that day, they will forever be remembered as heroes who answered the call of duty and paid the ultimate price," President Bola Tinubu said at the burial ceremony on Wednesday evening.
Support for families
The Nigerian president led top officials including military chiefs, state governors, defence minister and MPs to lay wreaths in honour of the slain soldiers.
It was an emotional moment with tears flowing as the caskets draped in glittering green-white-green Nigerian colours containing the bodies of the military personnel were lowered into the earth at the National Military Cemetery, in the capital Abuja.
Distraught families of the deceased were also present to pay their last respects for their loved ones and breadwinners.
President Tinubu approved scholarships for all children of the slain soldiers, including those in the unborn as some of the soldiers' wives are said to be pregnant.
Justice for soldiers
The Nigerian leader also said the government would provide houses for families of the deceased military personnel and gave the military authorities 90 days to pay all financial entitlements to the families.
President Tinubu, who had described the killing of the military personnel as a ''direct attack on our nation,'' once again vowed to punish the killers of the soldiers.
“They won’t go unpunished. We will find them and our departed heroes will get justice,” the president vowed.
The Niger-Delta region where the killings happened, has been experiencing militancy by armed groups seeking a greater share of the oil wealth produced in the area. There have also been frequent communal clashes over land or compensation for oil spills.
The Nigerian authorities have succeeded to a large extent in tackling communal violence and attacks on oil facilities in the region in recent years, helping to boost the country's oil output. However, there are still security challenges in the region and other parts of the country.
