Some Nigerians have faulted the army’s planned move to launch another round of Operation Python Dance in the Southeast.
The Nigerian Army, on Saturday, 18 August, announced it would begin another round of its Operation Python Dance (Exercise Egwueke) in the region.
The exercise, which held last in 2017, was marred by controversy amid allegations of killings of pro-Biafran agitators.
And calling it a waste of money, Chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association in Idemili, Anambra State, Ben Okoko, said the exercise showed the military’s incompetence in internal affairs.
"To announce to the world that you will be having Operation Python Dance or Snake Dance is to say the least, letting the cat out of the bag, as such activities would definitely bring the military into direct confrontation with the civilians they should protect,” he told reporters on Thursday.
"Previous outings of these operations have resulted in huge casualties on civilians. There have been instances where military might have been required, but they failed woefully. The resources they are trying to put on ground for Operation Python Dance III , if channelled to flash points of the country, where insecurity is at its highest, would send a nunc dimitis to the sects and get them eradicated.
"It will amount to adding salt to injury for the military to come to the Southeast under the guise of Operation Python Dance 3 , where the population is already saturated with heavy police presence in peace time.”
Similarly, the General Overseer, Mount Zion Faith Global Liberation Ministry, Nnewi, Bishop Abraham Chris Udeh, said: “The Southeast and its people do not need anything called Operation Python Dance ; it should be sent to areas where insecurity is rife.”
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