The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa has said the Nigerian Army was not taking laws into its hands by declaring wanted, some persons over the recent killing of 17 officers in Okuama community of Delta State.
Musa said this in an interview on Arise Television on Wednesday monitored by OsunDailyNG.
Some villagers in Okuama and some legal luminaries had asked the Nigerian Police Force to handle investigations into the recent murder of 17 soldiers.
The legal luminaries also berated the handing over of the traditional ruler of Ewu Kingdom, Delta State, HRM Clement Ikolo by the Police to the Army.
OsunDailyNG reports that Ikolo was one of the eight persons declared wanted by the Defence Headquarters, DHQ, Abuja, over the Okuama incident.
According to the senior lawyers, it is not the constitutional duty of the Army to investigate the murder.
While speaking on the allegation against the Army, Musa said, “It was premeditated just because the groups of criminals, cultists, and militants make a lot of money from crude oil theft, believing they are above board.
“They did this deliberately just because the commanding officer and his team were ensuring that any act of pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft, or illegal refineries were eradicated from that region.
“The commanding officer was a gallant officer who had done well across the North. For him to be killed in such a manner as a chicken is unacceptable. We’re happy that the Commander in Chief has given us the mandate to recover the arms from the perpetrators.”
