IPOB: South-East seeks return of Python Dance
Despite the vexatious propaganda of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), the people of the South-East region of Nigeria wants a return of the military operation code-named Python Dance.
This comes on the heels of alleged continuous hostile activities of the group, and the atmosphere of fear and intimidation its members had allegedly hoisted on the region, despite their proscription and declaration as a terrorist group.
A report released by a non-governmental organisation, the Independent Human Rights And Crime Monitoring Group, tagged, ‘Report on Military Operation Python Dance II and Associated Concerns in The South-East and South-South,’ in Port Harcourt recently, says concerted efforts are needed to neutralize the apparent threats of the group in the zone.
Presenting the report recently, Executive Director of the NGO, Barrister Zineke Werigbelegha, said following unrelenting claims that the exercise should be revisited, the Independent Human Rights and Crime Monitoring Group commissioned an assessment of Operation Python Dance II, “with a view to learning vital lessons that would help avoid any identified shortcoming.”
Werigbelegha went on to state that the assessment was restricted to the South-East geo-political zone, where separatists of the defunct Biafra republic are active, and covered the period between 2016 and 2017 when the Nigerian Army conducted Operation Python Dance and Operation Python Dance II.
Noting that subsequent reports confirmed that Operation Python Dance II is the most successful military operation in the South-East to date, Werigbelegha maintained that claims by “a group affiliated to IPOB, known as Intersociety, on alleged massacre arising from the exercise is totally false and aimed at rallying IPOB terrorists to regroup ahead of the 2019 general elections.”
He said the assessment involved interview with residents of the South East that were randomly selected according to sex, age, geographical spread, education, income level and affiliation to socio-cultural organisations.
“Researchers also spoke with survivors and victims of separatist harassments, military commanders, activists, and former members of separatist movements that have renounced their association with such groups.
Publicly available documents, news publications, press releases and statements, video and pictorial evidences, social media threads and public archives were content analysed.
“The assessment discovered that the Nigerian Army conducted Operation Python Dance in September 2016 as a training drill for troops, at a time the entire South-East was reeling from a wave of crimes like kidnap for ransom, banditry, extortion syndicates, and illicit drugs related crimes that were proving to be beyond the civil police.
