The proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has asked the Nigerian Army to leave the South-East immediately and move to the North that is being ravaged by Boko Haram terrorists and bandits.
IPOB stated this in a statement on Wednesday signed by its spokesman, Emma Powerful, while reacting to the launch of a military exercise codenamed ‘Golden Dawn’ in the South East.
Naija News reports that the Army had launched the exercise on Monday at Igbariam, Anambra East Local Government Area by the Commander 302 Artillery Regiment (General Support) Col. Abdulkarim Usman.
The exercise, according to Army authorities will target secessionist groups, kidnappers, gunmen, and other criminal elements who have recently turned Anambra State into a troubled zone.
Reacting, IPOB said the operation was another ploy by the military to kill residents of the region, similar to what was done with Python Dance in which many lives were lost in 2017.
The pro-Biafra group condemned the Nigerian Army for leaving the North that is being ravaged with terrorism and banditry, only to concentrate on the South-East and other Southern regions.
IPOB slammed political leaders in the region for not speaking against the operation, accusing them of being selfish and wicked.
The statement partly read, “This operation is another round of secret genocide akin to the infamous Python Dance by the Nigerian Army. This is another ploy by the military to continue their reckless killing of Igbo youths just because we want to have our independence.
“We wonder why a special military operation would be launched in the South-East why the same military has looked away from Kaduna, Niger and other northern states which have become a slaughter ground by Fulani bandits and terrorists decimating Christian communities almost unchallenged.
“The level of insecurity in South-East which of course was created by the same Nigeria security agencies is a far cry to the state of near-anarchy in the northern region. Why is it during special military operations that the Fulani controlled federal government remembers South East but when it has to do with infrastructure and appointments they go North?
“Our message to the operatives deployed for this wicked special operation is to make sure they don’t kill any innocent Biafran or IPOB member. If they know where the bandits were created to wreak havoc in the South-East, let them face them. But any day they touch innocent Biafrans in South-East, they will regret their action.
“They should be ashamed of themselves that even soldiers are being killed by Fulani bandits in the North but they are here declaring a special operation in a relatively peaceful region.
“We pity South-East politicians and the political elite who lack understanding of the times. They are only after their political interest in 2023.”
This article was originally published on Naija News