- The Nigerian army said its planned operation in the southwest was to curb criminal activities
- It explained that it was not attacking any ethnic group
- However, Afenifere has rejected the planned operation in the southwest region
The Nigerian army has revealed that it is launching Operation Crocodile Smile in the southwest to tackle insecurity issues like the Badoo cult group in Lagos.
The army launched Operation Python Dance in the southeast and announced that a similar military operation will take place in the southwest and south south.
The Punch reports that Brig. Gen. Sani Usman who is the director, army public relations, explained that the operation were not targeted at any ethnic groups but to train the army so that it will be able to act when called upon.
READ ALSO: NASU, SSANU, NAAT to end strike as meeting with FG ends successfully
He said: “Let me tell you. I made reference to Operation Crocodile Smile, because there is so much mischief and misinformation in respect of Exercise Egwu Eke II. What we are saying is that the exercise is not targeted at any particular ethnic group or a group of persons.
“The army needs to train because in the event of being called upon by the civic authorities, we will know what to do. So, we are looking at large-scale security challenges and we train on those aspects. Last year, we had all these exercises based on the challenges at that time.
“But this year, there are issues associated with criminalities such as Badoo and other cult-related activities. The problems associated with the North-West are different from the South-South or the South-East or a combination of both. The whole idea is that these exercises are routine and some people only blow things out of proportion. But we mean well and we just want to train our troops to be more professional.”
The Afenifere, a socio-political group in the southwest, however, condemned the planned military operation in the southwest and south south saying they should be deployed to the northeast instead.
Yinka Odumakin who is the spokesperson of Afenifere said there was no need for soldiers to be deployed to fight crimes especially when Boko Haram was still operating in the north east.
He said: “There is no basis for it (troops deployment), there is peace in the South-West and calm in the South-South as of now except there are fifth columnists within the administration who just want to provoke crisis where there is none.
PAY ATTENTION: Watch more videos on NAIJ.com TV
“If they say they are looking for kidnappers, even in the South-West, where they say they want to deploy troops, it was the police that arrested the notorious kidnapper, Evans. They arrested him without firing shots or carrying out any major operation, they simply used intelligence and arrested him.
“If there should be any crime that the military want to curb, it is the police that should do it. There is no need for any Operation Python Dance, they should go and dance in the North-East where Boko Haram killed an Imam and others in Borno a few days ago.”
Meanwhile, the federal government promised to cut the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) down to size and that it is nearing its end with its proscription by the South-East governors.
The Punch reports that Alhaji Lai Mohammed who is the minister of information and culture made this position known on Wednesday, September 20 at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
You can watch this NAIJ.com exclusive video of Nnamdi Kanu's father speaking on his son's Biafra agitation below:
Source: Naij.com
ROSY CREST
Thursday, 21 September 2017