Independent Human Rights Group in
Nigeria, IHRGN, has commended the Nigerian Army over the success of its
military drill in the South East tagged, “Operation Python Dance II.”
The body said the military drill
was able to stop members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, from using
their relationship with the “political class and elites in the southeast” to
“blackmail the Army.”
IHRGN stated that the military
drill “has thwarted the growing spate of crimes like kidnapping, assassination,
ritual Killings, armed robbery and other life threatening evil across the
South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria. “
Speaking in Owerri, the Imo State
capital, the leader of the group, Barr Zineke Werigbelegha, opined that the
achievement of this particular operation should catalyze strong consideration
for retaining it as an annual drill to not only hone troops’ skills but to help
make the country safer for citizens.
According to Werigbelegha, “The
launch of Operation Python Dance II follows from the maiden edition of the
drill in 2016, which was widely acclaimed for ridding the southeast of Nigeria
of crimes like kidnapping, banditry and other violent crimes ahead of the
Yuletide season.
“To revive these crimes,
perpetrators brought them under a political cover which manifested as
agitations for the re-creation of the erstwhile republic of Biafra. While crime
if any nature is against the law, bringing these crimes under a call for
succession went on to create a volatile mix.
“Since the objective of Operation
Python Dance II was to build troops’ capacity it went ahead irrespective of the
mutations that the crimes in the region are undergoing. There were instances
where the crime gangs and terrorist group exploited the peaceful nature of the
drill to provoke troops through surprise attacks that were professionally
repelled.
“It was found that Operation
Python Dance II was widely but erroneously perceived as a full scale military
operation against the terrorist activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra
(IPoB) even when the Army sufficiently communicated its intention as a training
drill for troops familiarize with the operating environment of the country.
This perception was not helped by the propaganda launched by IPoB, which was
noted as desperate to keep the military out of the southeast while its
activities gain further grounds.
“The decision by IPoB terrorists
to deny troops right of way in the course of the operation led to potentially
volatile incidents that IPoB publicized as attacks on its operational base in
Abia state. It was however confirmed that troops professionally managed the
situation with several arrests made of the terrorists that had launched attacks
on troops.
“The propaganda infrastructure of
IPoB far exceeds that of Boko Haram and possibly rivals the ones by Islamic
State (ISIS/ISIL) as the terror group was able to flood the public discourse
space with manipulated pictures and videos that created the impression of
rights abuses. The research however found that Operation Python Dance II
operated within acceptable rules of engagement for the period under review.
“No one came forward to identify
themselves as the people in the videos that made the round alleging abuses by
the military. Some residents suggested that the footages may have input of the
film industry to attain the level of manipulation exhibited.
“Residents wanted an extension of
the one month duration of the operation with several of them noting that they
only began to feel safe with its launch. They also requested that the operation
should be instituted and designated with a year name as opposed to series name
(Operation Python Dance 2017 compared to Operation Python Dance II)
“There was an immediate scale
down of crimes – robbery, kidnapping, assassination, ritual killings, extortion
and criminal groups. The research revealed that these crimes were not random
acts but were centrally coordinated as sources of funding for IPoB. A
determination to protect these sources of its funding was in part responsible
for its decision to obstruct and attack troops on the exercise.
“IPOB enjoys patronage of the
political class and elites in the southeast and they exploited this relationship
to blackmail the Army.
“Operation Python Dance II (with
its predecessor) was in the best interest of the public as it helped addressed
pressing security issues that the civil police was grappling with even though
that was not its original intent.
“The accusations of human rights
abuses against the military was the product of propaganda since those who made
the allegations failed to step forward in the course of this research. The
allegations of human rights abuses were therefore found to be unfounded and
without evidence.
“The conduct of Operation Python
Dance II met the expected standards for acceptable rules of engagement during
military operations in a civilian area.
“Those arrested for obstructing
and attacking troops should be put on trial as deterrence for recurrence of
such.
“Those found to be supporting
IPoB as a terror group should be isolated from the political space to send a
clear message that people cannot precipitate crisis to get political leverage.
Such persons should be put on trial where there is strong enough evidence to
arraign them.
“Operation Python Dance should be
institutionalized as an annual exercise. The knowledge that the operation would
hold on regular basis will reduce the propensity for dismantled crime groups to
re-group.”
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