On the 8th of September 2017, Major General D D Ahmadu, Chief Of Training And Operations of the Nigerian Army announced an exercise called Operation Python Dance II which he said was going to take place in the five South Eastern States to address "rampancy of assassinations, attack on security personnel, theft of weapons, violent agitations, armed banditry and kidnapping"

2. Operation Python Dance 1 has been on for quite a while in the South East. Whilst Operation Python Dance 1 lasted major roads, entries and exits of important cities in the South East had zigzag check points supervised by members of the Nigerian Army. They turned out to be toll gates used in extorting money under gun point from helpless motorists. Our people were shamelessly intimidated and harassed at these check points. 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 Porthacourt numbering up to 191 by the estimates of Transparency International and shattered public confidence of South Easterners in the Nigerian Army and Police.

3 Operation Python Dance II announced to be launched for the five South Eastern states whose crime rates by Police statistics are not the highest in the country, turned out to focus on a tiny suburban road leading to the home of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,the IPOB LEADER
Last night that road was visited by a combined team of Police and Military personnel with Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) and armed personnel. Video posts from IPOB and the Nigerian Army did not indicate any act of disobedience before the invasion of this suburban environment. Contradictory versions of the encounter in this location came from both the Military/ Police and IPOB . Sparodic shots were fired at innocent civilians who had no firearms. Stones and bottles were pelted at the APC and military personnel. Which of the attacks preceded the other is not clear, but one was clearly disproportionate to the other and violated rules of military engagement in situations of this nature.

4 Ohaneze Ndigbo considers this development as unfortunate. We believe that it is a deliberate invasion of a quiet homestead, an act of provocation and a continuing policy of intimidation.
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 incidences. Innocent civilians living in these other parts of Nigeria have not witnessed the type of invasion Umuahia witnessed last night.

5 Ohaneze Ndigbo is left with no alternative than to conclude that this is a containment policy aimed at the South East to intimidate our people from freely expressing their anger and angst at their marginalization and treatment as second class citizens. 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 the continuous use of force to silence dissent and free speech will only accelerate the growth of dissent and dissatisfaction. Fundamental Rights of freedom of expression are critical for a successful democracy.

6 Ohaneze Ndigbo therefore calls on The Federal Government to call off this phoney Operation Python Dance II. Nigeria at this moment does not need such deliberate and proactive escalation of tensions and crisis. There are more civilised and established practices to resolve our democratic and security challenges.

John Nnia Nwodo
President General Ohanaeze Ndigbo

cc: lalasticlala

Ok

Nnia Nwodo is doing an excellent job.

Igbo Amaka

Goos statement..

Shameless old group that will soon dance to python beat

ERockson:
Shameless old group that will soon dance to python beat

funny you

IT WILL NOT BE WELL WITH BUHARI

Nwobo and his gang should shut up. They failed to call Nnamdi kanu to order for the past two years. Now that the chicken is coming home to roost, they are issuing silly statement tribalising the legitimate operations of the army.

No country or government will allow the kind of nonsense KANU is doing to continue. We supported military operation against boko haram, we should support it against ipob as the two groups have similar demands. At this point, we should be putting pressure on the military to respect the human rights of innocent citizens who are not members of ipob while urging them to use maximum force on the trouble makers.

seunmsg:
Nwobo and his gang should shut up. They failed to call Nnamdi kanu to order for the past two years. Now that the chicken is coming home to roast, they are issuing silly statement tribalising the legitimate operations of the army.

Is Nnamdi Kanu d problem when we have Bokoharam and Fulani herdsmen running riot?

Well done...Ohaneze!

Buhari knows only brutal force to actualize his desired caliphate.!

southerners are the problem of them selves. It beats my imagination how some people of southern nigeria will support this kind of onslaught by the govt beats my imagination. The same govt that sees them as second class citizen.the sooner we wake up and see that we have a common enemy(that is oppose to restructuring,so as to continue to enjoy the status co)the better for us.

seunmsg:
Nwobo and his gang should shut up. They failed to call Nnamdi kanu to order for the past two years. Now that the chicken is coming home to roast, they are issuing silly statement tribalising the legitimate operations of the army.

No country or government will allow the kind of nonsense KANU is doing to continue. We supported military operation against boko haram, we should support it against ipob as the two groups have similar demands. At this point, we should be putting pressure on the military to respect the human rights of innocent citizens who are not members of ipob while urging them to use maximum force on the trouble makers.

I hope you are NOT the Seun of this nairaland? If you are, with comment, I am highly disappointed. Try to have a mind of your own.

it's unfortunate that Ohaneze Ndigbo is going to learned it the hard way. instead they join NK. they are busy talking trash. the fulani has brought war to your door step.

It is quite unfortunate the trauma Nnamdi Kanu's IPOB has brought upon anti-Biafra igbos in the SE and other regions.

What is more unfortunate, however, is the missed opportunity he had to channel the struggle instead for restructuring; which would have made him a national leader across the Southern regions and some parts of the North.

It is very shameful that an apex socio cultural group as Ohaneze, with all it's acclaimed weight, could not prevail on Kanu, in all their elderly wisdom, to fight instead for restructuring, which would have opened up channels for dialogue on the way forward.

It is however apparent that the call for restructuring cannot be shoved aside any longer, we would ultimately have to go back to the drawing board sooner or later, else, we would run into more of these agitations in the coming future.