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Bodies of 18 missing soldiers found

Posted by michael ojugbo on June 11, 2009 at 4:53am
Bodies of 18 soldiers declared missing after an encounter with militants in the Chanomi creeks in Delta State last month have been found in a mass grave. The corpses were found by operatives of the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) code-named Operation Restore Hope.The murdered soldiers comprised two lieutenants and 16 other ranks.Earlier, a rifle and uniform belonging to one of the soldiers were found in a shrine in Okerenkoko.The attack on the soldiers on May 13 prompted the on-going military action against militants in the Niger Delta with the military authorities vowing an unrelenting war until the region was rid of criminal elements.Daily Sun gathered that the missing soldiers bodies were found in a mass grave in Camp 5 in the Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta.The camp belonged to the wanted militant leader, Government Ekpomukpolo a.k.a. Tompolo.It was further learnt that the attack and seizure of the camp by the military was facilitated by the arrest of nine senior aides of Tompolo.According to sources, after the arrest of Tompolo’s commanders, including a disabled in charge of the camp’s armoury, they were whisked away to the headquarters of JTF in Effurun.“It was when they were brought to our headquarters that they pleaded not to be tortured and volunteered to provide information that will lead to the whereabouts of our missing officers and soldiers,” a source said.It was gathered that the military authorities were working to establish whether the bodies recovered were truly the remains of the missing officers and soldiers.Coordinator of the Joint Media Campaign Centre of JTF, Colonel Rabe Abubakar, could not be reached for confirmation of the report on the recovered bodies as he was said to be out on official duties.Commander of the JTF, Major General Sarkin Yaki Bello had vowed shortly after the soldiers were declared missing that the military would not relent until they were found.According to Bello, in military parlance, no soldier was presumed dead during combat until his body had been found or recovered
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