Peter Obi of the Labour Party has mourned 36 Nigerian soldiers killed in an ambush in Niger State, expressing worries over “ceaseless” insecurity ravaging communities across Nigeria.

Mr Obi, in a series of tweets on the X microblogging app on Thursday, commiserated with the families of the slain soldiers. 

“The report of the death of 36 soldiers who were killed in a terrorist ambush in Niger State is both devastating and depressing. I am very saddened for families whose loved ones have continued to pay the patriotic but very painful price in the fight against insecurity in our country,” Mr Obi said.

Mr Obi said Nigerians must be united to combat insecurity, emphasising that development was only possible if lives and properties were secure.

He added, “Fighting insecurity, squarely and resolutely, remains my first and abiding priority in the New Nigeria. For me, security, peace and progress remain cardinal precepts in the pursuit of a new national order. On these, I shall never flinch nor falter.”

At least 36 military officers were killed in an ambush in Niger by a yet-to-be-identified terrorist group that shot down a Nigerian Air Force surveillance helicopter, DHQ spokesman Edward Buba said at the biweekly briefing by the DHQ on Thursday. 

NAF said its MI-171 helicopter on a casualty evacuation mission crashed on Monday near Badna, Chukuba ward of Shiroro LGA in Niger. 

The incident became the latest case of killings in the country since President Bola Tinubu assumed office on May 29.

On June 30, Peoples Gazette reported that at least 237 people were killed in Mr Tinubu’s first month in office. 

The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja on Wednesday urged troops of the Nigerian Army to remain resolute in bringing

the nation’s adversaries to their knees and restoring sanity in troubled areas across the country.

Mr Lagbaja gave the charge during an assessment visit to Niger State following troops’ encounter with insurgents in the Zungeru general area, where some troops paid the supreme price.