₦airaland Forum

Nigerian Army on Saturday announced the deployment of troops for the commencement of Operation Crocodile Smile II in the six Niger Delta states.

Maj.-Gen. Enobong Udoh, General Officer Commanding (GOC) 6 Division, Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, said this on Saturday while addressing troops.


He said: “Operation Crocodile Smile is not a show of force but a confidence-building patrol that seeks to reassure the people of Rivers state and the Niger Delta that the army is ready to work.

“We are ready to work in close synergy and collaboration with other security services and agencies of government to ensure that there is peace and security for the people.

“Our operation aims to reassure the public that we are ready to fight crimes like cultism, militancy, and kidnapping so that people can go about their business without fear,” he said.

Udoh added that troops would carry out collaborative patrols with the Nigerian Police, Federal Road Safety Corps, Nigerian Immigration Service and the Department of State Security (DSS).


Others are Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps, Nigerian Customs Service and personnel of the Nigerian Prison Service.

Udoh said the division would carry out the exercise slated from October 7 to October 28 in Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers states while another formation would cover other states in the Niger Delta.

Legal practitioners, under the aegis of Lawyers of Conscience (LAWCONS) have called for the immediate arrest of Ifeanyi Ejiofor, the lawyer to IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu and other persons working for the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra.

The group said it was an insult on the side of the Nigerian government that the now labeled-terrorist group, IPOB led by Kanu could have the mind to file a suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja praying for an order directing the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, to produce its leader in court.


LAWCONS said it was worried that law enforcement agencies were yet to act on the order of the Federal High Court in Abuja that designated IPOB as a terrorist organization.

Babatunde Oladimeji, President, while speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, noted that Ejiofor was only out to complicate the issues by claiming that the military was in custody of his client and not in London as widely reported.

Oladimeji said, “Knowing that he had grossly violated his bail conditions for his treason trial, Kanu had deliberately instigated his followers to attack troops on Operation Python Dance II drills to claim attacks on his person when they acted to defend themselves.

“In the wake of the incident of September 14 when Ifeanyi said he last saw his client, Kanu was on telephone live with a broadcast station, in which he condemned the military for repelling his fighters. IPOB spokesman, Emma Powerful, had categorically declared that they ferried the terrorist leader to safety.


“Emma Powerful specifically stated in the statement on September 18 2017 (four days after the dates referenced by his lawyer) that “Our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has made it abundantly clear to all and sundry that he is NOT going on exile as a result of these childish threats from Hausa Fulani dominated Nigeria Government.”

He further said “Major General Muhammadu Buhari and his APC band of thugs should be the ones hiding from IPOB not us from them. It is unfortunate that some people in Arewa North do not know who Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is hence they keep coming up with laughable fabrications designed to demystify our leader, to no avail.”

“Once the court declared Kanu’s group a terrorist organisation after making these boasts, he realized for the first time the enormity of his transgressions and he fled further. He first ran to Bayelsa State with his parents and from there he escaped through Nigeria’s border with Cameroon. We all know Cameroon’s connection with France and the role France is reportedly playing in financing and supporting IPoB.

“Ifeanyi Ejiofor however contacted other members of IPoB and assured them that Operation Python Dance II is a good cover for Nnamdi Kanu to evade being returned to detention for breaching his bail conditions. He instructed the terror group’s propagandist, Emma Powerful, AKA Prince Emmanuel Kanu, the IPoB leader’s brother to change his earlier press statement and begin claiming that Kanu’s whereabouts are unknown as the military might have killed or arrested him.


“Even if Kanu can successfully remain in a cowardly hiding past the October 17 date when he is due in court, he would of necessity have to resurface, at which point the entire IPoB group would have been exposed as a pack of terrorist lies that it is. The scenario nonetheless sets a bad precedence that must be nipped in the bud immediately.”

The group therefore demanded that security agencies should without delay arrest Ifeanyi Ejiofor for belonging to a terror organization contrary to the laws of Nigeria.

He added, “It amounts to contempt of court for security agencies to not act in accordance with the court order that designated IPoB a terrorist organization. It sets a bad precedent and it is a matter of time before some Boko Haram terrorists would come up with their own suit asking the Federal Government to grant their leader, Abubakar Shekau, freedom of movement.


“The military and the other security agencies must not play with our intelligence as peace loving Nigerians are not ignorant of international provisions that allows for the activation of red alert for high profile terrorists. They should therefore approach Interpol to assist in fishing Nnamdi Kanu out from Cameroon, France or any other country he might have fled to.”