In a sobering update provided yesterday, the Defence Headquarters confirmed the recovery of decomposing hearts belonging to some of the victims among the 18 Army officers and men tragically killed in Okuama, Delta State.

It said the hunt for the perpetrators was intensifying but no significant arrest had been made.

Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar called the killing of the soldiers a national tragedy while Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike branded it barbaric.

Niger Delta Development Minister, Abubakar Momoh, vowed that the killers would not go unpunished.

Residents of the community who have fled their homes for fear of reprisal are lamenting the horror of starvation and denial they have been going through since the incident.

An ex-Niger Delta militant leader, ‘General’ Endurance Amagbein, who was accused in some quarters as the brains behind the killings, yesterday vehemently denied the allegation.

He said he knew nothing whatsoever about the incident.

The Director Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, told reporters in Abuja that troops were currently conducting clearance operations and cordon and search to recover, among other things, the weapons of the deceased soldiers.

He said their efforts have yielded the recovery of the “decomposing hearts of some of the murdered soldiers.”

Earlier reports had indicated that the people responsible for the soldiers’ death also harvested their hearts and other body parts.

On the list of communities in which troops have already conducted operations are Akugbene, Ukuama and Okoloba in Ugheli and Ugheli South of Delta State as well as  Ukuama Amusamo, Akwagbe, Arhavwarien, Pirigbene and Igbomatoro communities also  in Delta State.

He said although no significant arrest had been made yet, the DHQ was not unaware of a viral video of a person “admitting to have perpetrated the killing of the soldiers in Delta State.”

He said one of the advantages of the video is that it “helps to narrow investigations to persons of interest and their cohorts.”

He said: “Accordingly, the state governments and host communities of these personalities are required to assist investigation in flushing them out.

“There can be no hiding place for perpetrators of such dastardly act against our nation. This is a clarion call to duty by members of those communities and the state governments.”

Besides the development in Okuama, Buba said troops across other theaters of operation during the week neutralised 106 alleged terrorists and arrested 103 other suspected criminals.

He said troops also arrested 22 oil thieves and rescued 96 kidnap victims.

Buba said troops recovered 171 assorted weapons comprising 47 AK47 rifles, one PKT gun, 18 pump action rifles, 17 locally fabricated guns, 14 Dane guns, 12 locally fabricated pistols, one fabricated revolver, one hand grenade, 81mm mortar bomb, one mortar tube and four bandoliers

He said troops also recovered 2,452 assorted ammunition, comprising 995 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 468 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 317 live cartridges, 125 rounds of 9mm ammo, 313 rounds of 7.62 x 54mm ammo, 13 rounds of 7.62 x 51mm, 19 rounds of 7.62 x 39mm, 167 empty shells of 7.62mm special ammo, 45 empty shells of 7.62mm NATO, 72 empty cases of cartridges, 14 magazines.

Other items recovered, according to defence spokesperson, are 10 vehicles, 23 motorcycles, 19 mobile phones, one bicycle, four baofeng radios, and the sum of N112,920.00 amongst other items.

He said: “Troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 51 dugout pits, 17 boats, 15 storage tanks and 4 vehicles. Other items recovered include 21 cooking ovens, 3 pumping machines and 40 illegal refining sites.

“Troops recovered 772,350 litres of stolen crude oil, 80,530 litres of illegally refined AGO and 1,500 litres of DPK.”

Buba said the troops would continue to put themselves in harm’s way in order to protect and secure the citizens of this country.