Lai: Nigeria would have been on fire without ‘illegal Python Dance’

Lai Mohammed, minister of information, says the country would have been in crisis if President Muhammadu Buhari was “overly concerned” about the legality of deploying troops in the south-east.

Last week, the army launched ‘Operation Python Dance II’ to clampdown on pro-Biafra agitators in the region.

There were clashes between members of IPOB and soldiers in Abia state, which became a flashpoint of violence. The group also assaulted Hausa natives in Rivers state.

In the heat of the conflict, the defence headquarters declared IPOB a “militant terrorist” organisation. South-east governors subsequently proscribed the group.

However, the action of the military and the governors was criticised by Senate President Bukola Saraki who described it as unconstitutional.

Femi Falana, human rights lawyer, also added his voice to the condemnation of the proscription of IPOB.

Speaking with state house correspondents in Abuja on Wednesday, Mohammed said the country would have been in crisis if the president had not intervened.

He said the intervention of south-east governors and their northern counterparts staved off reprisal attacks in the north.

The minister also disclosed that the president had approved the process for the proscription of IPOB.

“But before I proceed, let me state clearly that it is within the rights of individuals or groups to seek self-determination. But this pursuit has to be non-violent. Where any group crosses the line by engaging in violence, it risks being cut to size. And that’s exactly what has happened to IPOB,” he said.

“I am not interested in the semantics or legality of troop deployment or the proscription of IPOB. All I know is that IPOB has engaged in terrorist activities, viz: setting up parallel military and paramilitary organisations, clashing with the national army and attempting to seize rifles from soldiers, using weapons such as machetes, Molotov cocktails and sticks and mounting roadblocks to extort money from people, among others.

“To those who have engaged in semantics or legality, I ask: Which country in the world will tolerate those activities I have listed above? Which national army will look the other way when it is being attacked by a band of thugs?”