I read with horror the plan of the Nigerian army to widen and deepen its occupation and blockage of Igbo land.
Since the beginning of the Buhari administration, Nigerian army has been conducting military exercises in igbo land, unprecedented in any democracy in peace time.
This ill-conceived show of force has caused unbearable suffering to the people as the region is saturated with road blocks, where the people are humiliated and extorted.
On the flimsy excuse of looking for criminals, the army is deploying combat ready sectarian minded soldiers, who so far, are responsible for many cases of extrajudicial Killings.
There is no democracy in this world, where the army is used to intimidate and oppress a section of the country in the way Nigerian army is being used in Igbo land, since the beginning of the Buhari administration.
What the army is doing in Igbo land is de facto continuation of the civil war, de facto military occupation and calculated attempt to intimidate, subjugate and find excuse to kill Igbos.
The the reasons the army has given for its shameful action are laughable. All of them are within the remit of the police in a democracy.
It is therefore clear, that there are other ulterior motives for this abuse of power and intimidation of peaceful people going about their businesses and living their lives.
The army is not used to quell civil unrest in a democracy. There is no civil unrest in Igbo land. The army is not used to contain criminals in a democracy. There are criminals in all parts of Nigeria. Why has the Nigerian army not deployed soldiers to other regions of the country? Is Igbo land the only region in Nigeria where there are criminals?
The army is not used in a democracy for any of the reasons it has given for turning Igbo land into a battle field.
Therefore, what the Nigerian army is doing in Igbo land is unacceptable, unjustifiable, unlawful and condemnable.
The governors, senators, legislators and all Igbos, who are preview to this military occupation for the reasons the army has given, should be very ashamed of themselves.
They are aiding the military occupation of Igbo land and the continuing intimidation and oppression of the people. This is tantamount to military occupation and economic blockage as investors are not known to invest in regions under military occupation.
It needs to be said that this operation Payton dance II is a coded excuse to kill more IPOB supporters and it is unlawful and unacceptable. It will further radicalise Igbos and make reconciliation more difficult.
Let it known that Nigerian army will be held accountable for any atrocity, breach of human rights, and any crime against humanity it commits in Igbo land, during its shameful intimidation exercise.
The presence of Nigerian army, in Igbo land under the circumstance is therefore an illegal occupation, which must now cease.
Every Igbo is not IPOB member. There is no reason to subject the whole people to collective punishment. It is a fascist method used by Hitler.
There is therefore, no reason for the military exercise in Igbo land and it must now be brought to an end immediately.
The army should leave Igbo land and return to north east, where Boko Haram, the real threat to Nigerian unity exists.
It is strange that at a time Boko Haram is causing further displacement of people in north east Nigeria, that the Nigeria army is wasting its resources conducting a python dance.
The army should know that pythons do not dance, it strangles it preys and swallows them whole, and then becomes a fitting duck.
This intimidation and oppression of Igbo’s must now stop. Nigeria is not at war, the solders should be in their barracks. Enough is enough
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