Operation Python Dance 2 ends October 14 –Army

BY Ismail Omipidan, Aloysius Attah, Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha and  Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin

The Nigerian Army has said the military exercise in the South East, codenamed Operation Python Dance 2, ( Egwu Eke 2 ), will end on October 14, 2017.

A statement by the Deputy Director, Army/Public Relations of the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Colonel Sagir Musa, in Onitsha, Anambra State, yesterday, said the exercise, and similar ones, with different code names, in some parts of the country, were deliberately initiated and conducted with an over-arching aim of checkmating identified security challenges prevalent in those regions.

Musa also explained that Operation Python Dance 2 is simply  a normal routine field training exercise, meant to sharpen the skills of the participating troops in internal security operations.

Allaying criticisms that have trailed the exercise, Musa said Exercise Egwu Eke II was not targeted at any individual or group and advised law-abiding citizens to go about their normal businesses without fear.

He said one interesting aspect of the exercise is that it is multi-agency in nature and execution, and added that relevant para-military agencies, including the Nigerian Police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Department of State Services, (CDSS) and the Federal Road Safety Commission  (FRSC) work in synergy with the army and are collaborating, to ensure successful execution and attainment of outlined objectives.

“The exercise is also aimed at combating security challenges in the South East and is well-equipped to deal with the rising cases of insecurity such as; kidnappings, farmers-herdsmen clashes, cultism, armed robbery, communal crisis, violent secessionist agitations, and insurgency among others.

“The first exercise python dance was successfully conducted in the South East, from November 27 to December 27, 2016. Peculiar security challenges in the region, which included kidnappings, abductions, violent secessionist agitations, armed robbery, farmers- herdsmen clashes, communal crisis the annual gridlock on the Asaba-Onitsha Bridge, among others, were the focus and targets of this exercise and have been successfully addressed.

“On the whole, the exercise has numerous objectives. Some of which are; to train participating units and formations on planning, preparation and conduct of internal security operations, as well as to deter the activities of kidnappers, cultists, armed robbers and violent secessionist agitators.

“Others are synergising with relevant para-military services to address identified threats and sharpen skills of troops, towards current and emerging security challenges peculiar to the South East.

“The concept of the current exercise, just as the previous one, is purely command post, field training and real-time exercise. It would enhance troops’ agility and preparedness across the spectrum of contemporary and emerging security threats peculiar to South Eastern Region (SER),” he said.

Meanwhile, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has alleged that Police, from Abia State Command, have again, raided the home of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, and destroyed vehicles in the process, after soldiers had, few days ago allegedly attacked the same home.

The group alleged that a team of policemen, with three Hilux vans, raided Kanu’s home on Saturday, condemning the incessant attack by security agents, against its members, according to IPOB Media and Publicity Secretary, Mr. Emma Powerful.

In a related development, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, has formally written to President Muhammadu Buhari, to reiterate the need to call off the ongoing Operation Python Dance in the South- East, with a view to averting another civil war.

In a September 14, 2017 letter, titled “Rising tension in the South East: Re: Appeal to call off Operation Egwu Eke,”  Ekweremadu said he was compelled by tension in the region, to appeal to the president “to take immediate steps to avert another civil war in Nigeria.”

He said dialogue and sense of belonging remain the best means of addressing the agitations in the South-East region and the challenges posed by pro-Biafra groups, including IPOB, led by Kanu.

“As President and Commander-in-Chief, you would agree with me that there is need for caution. Recall, your Excellency, that the South East Caucus of the Senate met with you on November 9, 2016. We had a heart-to-heart discussion on pressing issues affecting the South East. Recall that, on the issue of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, who was then in detention, we pleaded for your intervention and strongly advised against his continued detention. We were of the view that his continued detention would only further popularise, and in fact make him a hero. I am afraid, your Excellency, that government is embarking on yet, another huge misjudgment, by adopting a military option to the Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB challenge. Therefore, I most respectfully appeal to you to order the immediate withdrawal of the military from the South East as their presence can only and is, indeed, already amplifying tension in the region,” Ekweremadu wrote in the letter.

Also, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has condemned IPOB’s proscription by the South East Governors’ Forum.

IYC described the ban as unjustifiable.

The group noted that the action of the governors was at variance with international treaties empowering indigenous people to pursue self-determination, through non-violent action

IYC president, Roland Pereotubo, in a statement, noted that the governors’ action was “more of cowardice as it cannot stop agitation in the region.”

He added that “IPOB members are only fighting for their rights through non-violence means. They felt marginalised, segregated and rejected by the government of Nigeria. Oppression and injustice are the reasons why they are fighting for their freedom…”