Another Operation Python Dance? Troops to Raid Areas in South-East Allegedly Occupied by IPOB Enforcing Sit-at-home Order

Palpable tension grows in the entire states of the South-East region of Nigeria following the severe effects of the intermittent Sit-at-home order by a Finland-based self-claimed Biafran Spokesperson, Mr. Simon Ekpa.

Mr. Ekpa who was initially known as a Disciple of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has risen to fame as a sequel to the arrest and extraordinary rendition of Kanu from Kenya to Nigeria.

Ekpa has consistently been issuing different orders including a failed attempt to stop the February 25th, 2023 general election in the country, from holding at the five states in the South-East part of Nigeria. This, however, couldn’t put a stop to the long-term Monday Sit-at-home demonstration in solidarity with the leader of IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu who despite the various rulings of different courts of competent jurisdiction has been kept under the custody of the Department of Security Service (DSS), since the regime of the immediate past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Consequently, there are clarion calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Mazi Kanu, from the dungeon of the DSS custody, coming from concerned citizens from every country across the globe. The residents of the South-East region have consistently demonstrated their support for the release of Kanu, which according to different sociopolitical analysts would restore peace and tranquility in the entire region.

Nevertheless, the 2023 general election has come to an end but the hope for the release of Kanu which many had earlier predicted would be against the poll, is growing thin daily. This worrisome situation can not be swept under the carpet, especially considering the implications of his continuous detention.

It could be recalled that Mr. Simon Ekpa has in the recently past week issued a seven days sit-at-home order in the entire states in the South-East region of Nigeria, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of the IPOB leader, Mazi Kanu. The aftermath of the order would remain indelible in the life of many innocent citizens.
Nonetheless, just in the wake of another week, Mr. Ekpa has signaled the schedule for another two weeks of sit-at-home in the entire five states in Southeast, Nigeria. This current development has further been compounded by the fear of the perpetual rate of insecurity in the region.

Thus, in what many have described as a bid to counter the proposed two weeks sit-at-home order by the Finland-based Biafra agitator, Mr. Simon Ekpa, the Chief of Army Staff, Maj Gen Taoreed Lagbaja, has ordered troops of the Nigerian Army to raid areas where the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) enforce sit-at-home order throughout the South-East states.

To that end, the coming weeks are predicted to be embraced by the presence of the troops in the states of the region. This development has stirred mixed reactions as several social media commentators have made a correlation between ‘Operation Python Dance by the troops of the Nigerian Army in 2017 and the proposed operation in the same region.