The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has called on the Federal Government to direct the military to stop its military operation in the South-East immediately. The Ohanaeze expressed discomfort with what it called the invasion of the South-East by soldiers, operating under a code name Python Dance 11.
In a statement on Tuesday in Abuja by its President-General, Chief John Nwodo, the group stated that the military operation was aimed at intimidating the people. The Chief of Training and Operations of the Nigerian Army, Major Gen. D. D. Ahmadu, had, on Friday, announced the commencement of the operation. Nwodo said, “Nigeria, at this moment, does not need such deliberate and proactive escalation of tensions and crisis.”
He believed that there were more civilised and established ways to resolve the country’s democratic and security challenges rather than resort to the use of brute force. Ohanaeze added, “In a democracy, the level of disenchantment expressed by the people of the South-East of Nigeria ought to have provoked a serious dialogue between our people and the federal executive and the legislature. History teaches us that continuous use of force to silence dissent and free speech will only accelerate the growth of dissent and dissatisfaction. The fundamental right to freedom of expression is critical to a successful democracy.
“Our people were shamelessly intimidated and harassed at checkpoints. Operation Python Dance 1 procured no arrests of criminals that were prosecuted for any of the criminal activities that Operation Python Dance II is supposed to address. Instead, it witnessed reckless and indiscriminate murder of self-determination agitators in Asaba, Aba, Nkpor and Port Harcourt, numbering up to 191 by the estimate of Transparency International and shattered public confidence of south-easterners in the Nigerian Army and the police.”
Nwodo described the invasion of Nnamdi Kanu’s home by soldiers as unfortunate. He said, “We believe that it is a deliberate invasion of a quiet homestead, an act of provocation and a continuing policy of intimidation because crimes of monstrous proportions are occurring in other parts of Nigeria. Such crimes include ravaging killings by Fulani herdsmen in the Middle Belt; secret cult killings in Lagos and the South-West; bunkering and armed resistance in the Delta; wanton kidnappings and killing of military personnel in Kaduna State and environs as well as Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East.The Nigerian Army has never embarked on Operation Python Dance in any of the other five geopolitical zones on account of these incidents. Innocent civilians living in these other parts of Nigeria have not witnessed the type of invasion Umuahia witnessed on Sunday night.”
In a similar vein, the Owerri Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, Civil Liberties Organisation, Igbo National Council and some residents of Owerri, the Imo State capital, described Operation Python Dance 11 as an act of illegality. They, therefore, called on the National Assembly to reprimand and caution the Chief of Army staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai.
The Owerri NBA Chairman, Lawrence Nwaeketi, described Operation Python Dance as a declaration of war on the South-East geopolitical zone by the Nigerian Army. The legal practitioner added, “The military is not saddled with the responsibility of making arrests. It is the constitutional responsibility of the Nigeria Police. There is no external aggression in the South-East. The military should first arrest the Arewa youths who are threatening the peace and unity of this country by giving a quit notice to lawful citizens of Nigeria.”
The President of the CLO, Wisdom Durueke, described the military exercise in South-East as “uncalled for.” Also, in a statement in Owerri by its National President, Chilos Godsent, INC urged President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly to, as a matter of urgency, mandate the Army to stop Operation Python Dance.
In the same vein, the South-East Caucus in the Senate, on Tuesday, criticised the ongoing military campaign in the south-eastern states code named Operation Python Dance. The caucus lamented the military invasion of remote villages around Umuahia, particularly the alleged incursion into the country home of Kanu. Chairman of the Senate South-East Caucus, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, in a statement, stated that such actions suggested wilful personalisation of the operation and deliberate abuse of the people’s fundamental rights.
Abaribe said, “It is more worrisome
that military operation, Python Dance 2, restricted to the South-East in a peace time, has no doubt fouled the environment and sent strong signal that the region is under siege, which should not be so in a democracy. We therefore urge extreme caution and advise the military to de-escalate the situation and choose the best operational modus that will not only guarantee the safety of Nigerians but also enhance national unity.”
The Punch
