Nigerian Army versus IPOB: Tension in South East

Fri, Sep 15, 2017 | By publisher


Cover, Featured, Politics

The Nigerian military and members of the Independent People of Biafra raise tension in the South East as they engage in serious conflict following the military exercise code named Operation Python Dance II

 

  • Olu Ojewale

 

THE tension created by the confrontation between the Nigerian Army and members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, in Abia State, appears to not be ending any time soon. While it appeared that there were rays of hope that the matter would soon end when Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State announced that he had reached a compromise that the military would gradually vacate the streets of Umuahia and Aba, the Army refuted the claim. In fact, the Army announced that the military exercise code named Operation Python Dance II would start in full gear on Friday, September 15.

As if that not was not worrisome enough, on Thursday night after the governor’s assurance that everything was under control, the military reportedly moved into the Afara-Ukwu, Umuahia country home of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the IPOB, ostensibly to arrest him. Unconfirmed reports said about four persons were killed, while scores of other persons were injured when troops from the Nigerian Army broke into the building.

A video clip by Kanu shows how the invading military attacked his father’s palace where he was reputed to be staying, but his whereabouts was not disclosed.

However, the video shows that all the entrances leading to the house were barricaded with military vans with scores of soldiers stationed there, shooting in the air to scare away people. The shooting and operation in the house lasted for more than 30 minutes.

According to a family source, “the Palace was desecrated and ransacked as the soldiers searched all nooks and crannies of the house.”

Eze Israel Kanu, the father, and his wife were said to be in the palace during the Army operation, but shortly thereafter, their whereabouts and that of Kanu, the son, could be ascertained.

Sani Usman, a brigadier general and the director, Army Public Relations, in a release late on Thursday, September 14, said the military operation, Egwu Eke, would, therefore, commence from today (Friday) as scheduled.

He said: “The Abia State governor in his speech stated that ‘there will be gradual withdrawal of soldiers on the streets of Aba and Umuahia from tomorrow.’ This should not be misconstrued as withdrawing of troops earmarked for Exercise Egwu Eke II. The General Officer Commanding in the 82 Division has not said such thing

“Consequently, we wish to state that Exercise Egwu Eke is commencing on Friday (today) as scheduled. Commanders have been instructed to ensure that all hands are on deck to commence the exercise to its logical completion.

“We wish to also state that we would not allow any individual or group to jeopardise the conduct of the field training exercise through unlawful or criminal activities. Hoodlums and criminal elements are once again warned to be law abiding and not cause any breach of peace.

“We hereby reiterate that our troops would conduct themselves in the best professional manner, abide by the Rules of Engagement and Code of Conduct in line with requirements of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Any act of indiscipline by any of our personnel would be decisively dealt with.”

That, perhaps, would be a welcome development given the kind of reaction that greeted the video on the military action against some members of the IPOB, recently.

In the video which went viral on Wednesday, September 13, some alleged members of the separatist group were on their way to the residence of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the IPOB, in Umuahia, Abia State, when they were accosted by soldiers deployed in the area. The soldiers made them to surrender all their materials bearing signs and symbols of Biafra, stripped them half-naked and made them swim in mud waters, while they stood guard superintending the humiliated separatists.

In the course of the event, one of the IPOB members was allegedly killed, perhaps, while trying to escape the humiliation.

The video clip heightened tension and elicited condemnation across the country.

Nevertheless, Usman assured the nation in an interview that the Nigerian Army would investigate the matter and discipline the culprits.

In any case, the humiliating incident seemed to have heightened tension in Abia State, which has been witnessing unrest since Sunday, September 10, when the Army deployment to the state for the Operation Python Dance II started. Apparently disturbed by the presence of military contingence in the state, there was a clash between the Army and the IPOB members, leading to the death of about five persons and several others injured.

The incident on Sunday was an anticlimax because barely 48 hours later, soldiers laid siege to the Afaraukwu country home of Kanu, the leader of the IPOB, leading to another clash with members of his group and resulting in the alleged death of 15 persons.

It was learnt that the soldiers arrived in the community on Tuesday, September 12, barely 48 hours after the clash between them and the IPOB members on Sunday, September 10, evening.

This time, the soldiers came in a convoy of about 10 armoured personnel carriers, APCs, and seven Hilux vans. The development caused panic in the area, prompting shop owners to close immediately.

On arrival, some of the soldiers also invaded the Abia State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists on Aba Road, Umuahia, and destroyed valuables, including laptops, phones, i-pad among others.

The attacking soldiers alleged that they saw somebody taking photographs of them from the building.

John Emejor, the chairman of council, who confirmed the incident, alleged that Ezeogo Bonny Okoro, a national officer of the union, was slapped by one of the soldiers.

“Our stand is that those involved in this attack on innocent journalists should be fished out and punished in line with the constitution of the country,” he said.

Oyegoke Gbadamosi, a major and the assistant director, Army Public Relations, 14 Brigade, confirmed the incident and asked Emejor to send the photograph of the damaged office to him.

On that day, truckloads of the IPOB members were said to have sighted heading for Afaraukwu, apparently to show solidarity to Kanu. Some members of the group moving into Umuahia were allegedly confronted at Isiala-Ngwa junction on Tuesday afternoon by soldiers. The IPOB members said to be waving Biafra flags in vehicles singing and dancing as they passed through Enugu-Port Harcourt highway heading towards Abia State, on Tuesday evening.

Sources, however, said that what started like a like a little skirmish at the Isialangwa junction in Abia later snowballed into a major crisis that claimed lives and injuries. It was reported that at least 10 trucks were burnt with more than 15 dead bodies lying on the Aba-Port Harcourt highway on Tuesday evening.

It was learnt that the majority of those who died were allegedly killed by soldiers bullets or hit by other objects while trying to escape.

A witness who did not give his name told the media: “On getting to Isiala Ngwa junction after Aba, they encountered an army check point which refused to allow them continue in their movement. This sparked off a quarrel as many other truckloads joined them. During the ensuing confrontation, bullets began to go up, especially when the IPOB members attempted to force their way to Umuahia.

“At the checkpoint so many people were injured, some received head cuts, some were arrested and there were some who also lost their lives.”

The incident enraged members and supporters of the IPOB  in Aba, Obigbo, Port Harcourt in River State, who poured into the streets and started destroying things and attacking security agents, including policemen on duty.

That also led the soldiers to storm some part of the towns and cities in search of IPOB members in troubled areas.

The violence spilled to Wednesday, September 13, when further bloody skirmishes were recorded in Oyigbo, Rivers State, leading to the death of a police sergeant and arrest of 32 IPOB agitators.

The Rivers State Police Command announced that a police sergeant attached to the riot police squad at Oyigbo junction in Rivers State was killed by a mob suspected to be members of the IPOB, just as the command also arrested 32 members of the IPOB.

Addressing journalists in Port Harcourt, Zaki Ahmed, the state commissioner of Police, alleged that irate members of the IPOB set ablaze a patrol van stationed at Oyigbo junction and took away a Sterling SMG rifle belonging to the slain policeman during an attack early Wednesday.

According to the Police boss, 23 IPOB members were arrested on Tuesday, September 12, following the first attack and setting ablaze a police van that was moving from Police Training School, Nonwa, to the Port Harcourt International Airport, while Emaikwu Ochochi, an inspector, who drove the vehicle, was badly injured.

He said: “The timely response of the police restored normalcy and brought the situation under control as I made adequate deployment to arrest the situation. The mob was dispersed with minimum force, thereby restoring law and order, at the end of which 23 IPOB members were arrested.”

However, the Police said it was later leant that the same group of the IPOB members regrouped and launched a surprise attack on the mobile policemen stationed at Oyigbo junction, killing a mobile police sergeant identified as Steven Daniel and injuring two others before setting a patrol vehicle ablaze as a result of which a Sterling SMG rifle belonging to the deceased sergeant was taken by the hoodlums.

The Police boss said those arrested were helping the force with their investigations and would be arraigned in court as soon as investigation was concluded.

Apparently in a bid to forestall a further breakdown of law and order in the neighbouring city of Aba in Abia State, Governor Ikpeazu extended a dusk-to-dawn (6:00pm to 6:00am) curfew, which he imposed on the commercial nerve centre of the state on Tuesday to Friday.

A statement from Enyinnaya Appolos, the chief press secretary to the governor, after a meeting between Ikpeazu and traditional rulers in the state, stated that the governor appealed to residents and visitors in the state “to fully co-operate with the security agencies to ensure continuing maintenance of law and order within the commercial city and environs.”

Ikpeazu was also quoted to have expressed “displeasure at the situation where people are compelled to raise their hands while passing through security checkpoints.”Ikpeazu

He, therefore, called on the security forces and “all concerned to ensure that such acts and other forms of inhumane and barbaric treatment of people are discontinued immediately.”

Indeed, like a wildfire the crisis situation in Abia State on the account of the military and the IPOB has continued to attract comments from various quarters both for and against.

Irked by the audacity, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, has urged the federal government to direct the military to call off its operation in the South-East, saying it was an invasion in the region aimed at intimidating the people.

In a seven-point statement issued in Enugu, John Nwodo, its president general, and Igbo leaders said that: “Nigeria at this moment does not need such deliberate and proactive escalation of tensions and crisis.”

On September 8, D.D. Ahmadu, a major general and the chief of Training and Operations of the Nigerian Army, announced an exercise called Operation Python Dance II, which he said was going to take place in the five South-Eastern states to address “rampancy of assassinations, attack on security personnel, and theft of weapons, violent agitations, armed banditry and kidnapping.” It was meant to kick off on Friday, September 15, and end October 14.

The Operation Python Dance II, coming less than one week after the South-East zone was declared the safest in the country with the least crime rates, is seen as a means of dealing with agitators for the state of Biafra.

Hence, Ohanaeze insisted that rather than resort to the use of brute force in resolution of issue of self-determination, “there are more civilised and established practices to resolve our democratic and security challenges.”

The South-East leaders said that if the alleged act of intimidation was not discontinued immediately, they would be left with no alternative than to “conclude that this is a containment policy aimed at the south-east to intimidate our people from freely expressing their anger and angst at their marginalisation and treatment as second class citizens.”

Similarly, the South-East Caucus in the Senate, on Tuesday, criticised the military exercise, calling it an invasion.

Enyinnaya Abaribe, chairman of the Senate South-East Caucus, in a statement, stated that such actions suggested wilful personalisation of the operation and deliberate abuse of the people’s fundamental rights.

Abaribe said: “It is more worrisome that military operation, Python Dance II, restricted to the South-East in a peace time, has no doubt fouled the environment and sent strong signal that the region is under siege, which should not be so in a democracy.

“We, therefore, urge extreme caution and advise the military to de-escalate the situation and choose the best operational modus that will not only guarantee the safety of Nigerians but also enhance national unity.”

On his part, Femi Falana, SAN, a human rights lawyer, on Wednesday, September 14, described as illegal, the alleged deployment of soldiers in the family house of Kanu, the leader of the IPOB, in Umuahia, Abia State.

Falana, in a statement on Wednesday, said there was no legal basis for the deployment of soldiers in the place, and therefore, asked President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the armed troops “to withdraw and return to their barracks forthwith.”Falana

He said the commissioner of Police in Abia State should be allowed to take over Kanu’s case in line with the provisions of the constitution and the Police Act.

Tracing the involvement of the military’s involvement in civil issues since successive military regimes in the country, Falana said: “There is no legal basis for authorising the Nigerian army to take over police duties. Even under the defunct military era in Nigeria the military dictators had to declare a state of emergency to legitimise the usurpation of police powers by the armed forces.

“But under a democratic dispensation the president and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces lacks the power to deploy members of the armed forces in the maintenance of internal security in any part of the country.

He said the army’s involvement in the maintenance of law and order was illegal, adding that section 215 (3) of the Constitution had conferred such responsibility exclusively on the Nigeria Police Force.

He added that unless there was an insurrection, the President of Nigeria could not exercise his power under section 217(2) of the constitution to deploy the armed forces for the “suppression of insurrection and acting in aid of civil authorities to restore law order.”

He maintained that having filed an application before the federal high court in Abuja for the revocation of bail granted Kanu on the grounds that the IPOB leader had breached the conditions for the bail, the resort to “self help” by deploying soldiers to Kanu’s family home was unjustifiable.

In the same vein, Mike Ozekhome, SAN, has described the military actions in the South East as brute force and a crush-them mentality.

Ozekhome, in a statement, stated: “Force is not the best approach to fight Kanu; this government is becoming very infamous for using brute force and a crush-them mentality in solving problems.

“This twin method has never been known in history to win a war; a war is better won with persuasion, intellectual argument, understanding and peaceful resolution.

“No people in the world has ever been known to be crushed to death and the federal government is using the kind of excessive force which it has not been able to deploy against Boko Haram and that is why Boko Haram today is still potent if not even more potent than it was two years ago.

“I cannot understand how a whole government would deploy a battalion of its military to a small village, to the house of an unarmed street protester, Nnamdi Kanu, who is asking for self-determination for his Igbo people and even asking for a referendum towards that effect,” Ozekhome said.

Also reading a political connotation into whole episode is Ebun Adegboruwa, a human right lawyer, who said in a Channel television interview: “The South West had agitated and got (Olusegun) Obasanjo as president. The Niger Delta had agitated and got 30percent derivation. The North had agitated and got Presidency severally through the barrels of the gun. In fact, the South West ran Radio Kudirat by a prominent person, who is still alive today, at the height of their agitations. Nothing happened. What is wrong with this current agitation in the South East? This whole Operation Python dance is illegal and politically motivated. They won’t conduct this kind of dance in the South West because 2019 is fast approaching and they need the South West. They didn’t get votes from the South East and are not expecting come 2019, so they don’t care what happens there. All forms of agitations, whether for resource control or whatever must be encouraged.”

That notwithstanding, Goddy Uwazurike, president of Aka Ikenga, an Igbo socio-cultural group, claimed that the current crisis in Abia State, was simulated as a ploy for the federal government to declare emergency rule in the state and called on government to withdraw soldiers from the South-East as demanded by Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex Igbo cultural organisation.

Making a similar call for the withdrawal of the military from the South East, Ike Ekweremadu, deputy Senate president, disclosed that he was currently in talks with the Presidency to bring an end to the Operation Egwu Eke II or Operation Python Dance II in the region.

Ekweremadu, who also condemned in strong terms, the military exercise in the South East, insisted that there was no security situation to warrant the launch of the operation in the first place.

The deputy president of the Senate, in statement issued on Thursday, September 14,  noted that dialogue remains the best approach to solving the agitation in the region.

Nevertheless, Ekweremadu said: “I want to assure our people that I have been engaging the Presidency and security agencies meaningfully on the issue. It is my hope that the Operation Egwu Eke will be called off.”

However, Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State and chairman of the APC Governors’ Forum, has stated that the agitation by the IPOB for a sovereign republic in the South-East was borne out of childish behaviour.

Okorocha, who spoke on Wednesday, September 13, after leading a delegation of the forum on a sympathy visit to Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, and victims of the recent flood disaster in Benue State, said no reasonable Igbo man was backing the agitation.

“I have always said IPOB is an agitation group but the captioning is bad when you talk of sovereignty within a sovereign nation and also talking of secession. Let me assure you that no Igbo person or man is in support of secession and people must see this as a childish act and we must stand up and address it before it becomes a national problem.

“As for us leaders in that area, it will be insane for anyone to think that the IPOB leader will ask us to follow him to seek secession. So, Nigerians must learn to address it specifically. If you are addressing the IPOB you should be specific and not to address it as if it’s an Igbo affair.

“So, I must say unequivocally that no leader in Igbo land is in support of the IPOB activities.”

Nevertheless, given the tensed situation, the All Progressives Congress, APC; Peoples Democratic Party, PDP; and Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, among others, have called for calm and admonished all parties involved to exercise restraint.

In a statement issued by Bolaji Abdullahi, national publicity secretary, the APC, stressed that the security agencies must adhere to globally stipulated rules of engagements and laws governing their operations.

“We must allow our security agencies to conduct their constitutional roles of securing lives and property without hindrance and provocation. We also call on citizens, social commentators, media influencers and other stakeholders to be careful and mindful of their utterances on the clashes.

“Stoking tensions by inciting utterances, hate speech and all other forms of awful propaganda will only push the country to the precipice. We must speak and stand up for peaceful coexistence on our social media platforms, places of worship and all other public spaces we belong to,” APC said.

In its reaction to the situation in Abia, the opposition PDP noted that while it was committed to the continued corporate existence of Nigeria as one indivisible country, it at the same time expressed its respect for the rights of people anywhere to express their yearnings and aspirations within the confines of the laws of the land.

A statement by Dayo Adeyeye, the PDP spokesman, stated that at a time that “tempers seem to be flaring, dialogue rather than violence is the only viable option to resolve whatever problems are on ground in the South-East zone and, indeed, the entire country.”

It warned: “What the country needs at this time is an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity, without which no meaningful positive development in whatever sector can be attained, and the situation unfolding in the South-East, which is a very important component of the Nigerian family, is no doubt, inimical to our collective quest to take Nigeria higher.”

The party, therefore, called for dialogue to resolve the matter.

On its part, the ACF also called for calm and commended Ikpeazu for his prompt action and for imposing a dusk to dawn curfew on Aba, following the clash between supporters of the IPOB and the Nigerian Army.

In a statement in Kaduna, Wednesday, Mohammed Ibrahim Biu, publicity secretary of the ACF, said the IPOB supporters and other agitators for whatever reason should pursue their cause within the confines of the law.

The ACF called for the sanction of identified perpetrators of the crisis to serve as a deterrent to others.

“In this regard, ACF urges the governors of the South-East and South-South regions to take adequate and necessary steps to protect the lives and properties of the innocent and law abiding citizens living in their states.”

Thus, the ACF appealed to members of the IPOB and other agitators, to always pursue their concerns within the confines of the law and the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution

Nevertheless, the ACF commended the military “for their professionalism in handling the security challenges and calls on the federal government to be firm and resolute in bringing such situations under control in favour of peaceful coexistence needed for meaningful socioeconomic development.

“We, therefore, appeal for calm and urge citizens to appreciate the need to live in peace and harmony.”

Also towing the same path of the ACF, a Coalition of Northern Groups, CNG, in Kano, on Wednesday, September 13, called on Northerners to resist anything that would lead to unnecessary provocation and that could lead to reprisals over the unfolding events in the South East.

The group, which was reacting to reports that some Northerners resident in Oyigbo were molested and had to seek the protection of the police, called for calm and for Northerners to be law abiding.

Addressing journalists at the Kano Press Centre over the situation in Abia State, Abdulazeez Suleiman, the spokesman of the group, said: “As cultured people with a long history of tolerance and respect for constituted authority, we call on Northerners to resist the temptation of carrying out reprisals and playing to the gallery.”

Besides, he said: “We must remain peacefully focused, mutually respectful, trusting and tolerant as we repose confidence in the ability and committed willingness of the Nigerian security agencies to handle the situation as well as protect the lives and properties of every Nigerian anywhere.”

According to him, “In this situation, it is essential that the North and Northerners remain restrained and refuse to be provoked into reprisals which is the ultimate hope of the conflict instigators.

The group, however, accused the IPOB of trying to make the country ungovernable for President Buhari.

It alleged the agitations and disturbances that “have been ongoing ceaselessly since the coming to power of the Muhammadu Buhari and Yemi Osinbajo administration in 2015, are aimed at rendering the country practically ungovernable and ushering in anarchy and instability, thereby occasioning a change of government by whatever means and tactics.

“The targeting of President Buhari’s administration and singling him for attacks and irreverent treatment is aimed at causing inter-regional crisis possibly leading to general unrest.

In any case, the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, called on the military to desist from any acts capable of causing tension, public disturbance, fear and a sense of insecurity in the country

A statement issued by Fatimah Agwai Mohammad, NHRC’s head of Media Relations, said the commission was highly concerned about the alleged invasion of parts of the South East and South-South by the military.

It, therefore, called on the military to observe the rules of engagement when dealing with civilians and asked the military to respect the fundamental rights of all citizens.

The statement quoted Oti Ovrawah, the acting executive secretary of the NHRC, as calling on both civilians and the security agencies to maintain the peace

Ovrawah said the commission would collaborate with the Nigeria Police Force and other relevant authorities to “ensure a timely and thorough investigations into the allegations with a view to ensuring that informed decisions are made and appropriate steps taken to have culprits punished and victims redressed in accordance with the law.”

The commission called on the military to leverage on the series of training the commission had offered it on mainstreaming human rights into its operations, especially with the emerging human rights challenges, adding that “they are expected to carry out their duties according to international best practices.”

That notwithstanding, Kanu has opted out of a meeting scheduled to hold on Friday by governors of the South-East zone to discuss issues relating to the Biafra agitation

Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State as chairman of South-East Governors’ Forum, had called the meeting as a follow-up to the one held in Enugu on August 30.

The earlier meeting attended by the South-East governors and other Igbo leaders had resolved to “engage Kanu and the entire leadership of IPOB in further meetings and dialogue with a view to quickening the resolutions of all issues amicably.”

Kanu, in a press statement Wednesday, September 13, said he had changed his mind and decided to refrain from attending the meeting, saying his reason was predicated on the recent attack on his members by military personnel and the alleged plan to assassinate him on his way to the meeting.

He added that he was attending to members of his group who were shot by soldiers in Aba and Umuahia and that the date also coincided with the date the IPOB had slated to meet in Germany to vote on the viability or otherwise of continuing the struggle in a non-violent manner.

According to him, “Before now, prominent leaders and groups had insisted that I toe the line of peaceful dialogue and meet with the governors to find a lasting solution to our grievances.

“I conceded to that request which led to the 30th of August, 2017, meeting with the South-east Governors’ Forum at the Government House in Enugu, in the company of the very eminent Prof. Ben Nwabueze and Evangelist Elliott Ugochukwu-Ukoh.

“In view of the concerted efforts by the oppressive Nigerian state to shatter the peace and tranquillity of the South-East and the rest of Biafraland through military intimidation, it has become necessary for me to clarify why, regrettably, I may not be able to attend Friday’s meeting with the South-East governors as earlier agreed.”

Kanu said it would be impossible to engage in any meaningful dialogue with the governors in the midst of so much bloodshed, abductions and military siege of towns and villages in the South-East, and that he would not engage in any meeting with anybody until the atmosphere is conducive and peaceful for further dialogue.

He said the siren-blaring military convoys and armoured vehicles occupying the entire region were not only designed to intimidate the people but also deliberately positioned to scuttle the IPOB/South-East governors meeting on Friday.

That notwithstanding, it was learnt that the South-East governors would go ahead with their meeting in Enugu, as Kanu was not the primary reason for the meeting.

Whatever, Monday Ubani, second vice president of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, said that whatever the bone of contension, no meaningful development would take place in the mist of conflict and tension in the South-East. “My appeal to everyone is that we should allow peace to reign that is the only way we can fulfil our ambition of having a viable country. Whatever the agitation, whatever the contention, we cannot achieve any meaningful result without peace,” he said.

Well said, but is anybody listening? The events following the crisis will surely determine the direction of what the future looks like for both federal government and the IPOB on the issue of Biafra.

– Sept 15, 2017 @ 17:17 GMT |

 

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