Nigerian Army will keep on military operation in the South-East

The Nigerian army has issued an extraordinary statement in which they advised Nigerians to ignore the governor Okezie Ikpeazu`s statement where he said that the troops would be withdrawn.

“We are not going to withdraw our troop. The General Officer Commanding 82 Division has never said such thing,” informed Sani Usman, the Army spokesperson.

As it became known to NAIJ News, Mr. Ikpeazu, the Governor of Abia State, told that the army would start a systematic withdrawal of troops from Abia.

Sani Usman also added that the exercise will start as scheduled and would continue until the end of 2017. He also asked all Nigerians to support the training which was a vital part of their constitutional duties.

“Our soldiers will 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” during the exercise,” the spokesperson promised.

As it was previously informed, the movement of several Armoured Personnel Carriers into Umuahia, which is in Abia State, has recently caused a brutal fight between the Nigerian troops and IPOB supporters, which keep on campaigning for the state of Biafra independence.

Such a situation made many Nigerians from the South-East severely criticize this military exercise as being needless, confrontational, and capable of leading to a much more severe national security disaster.

At the same time, Victor Iyanam, an ex-attorney general in Akwa Ibom State, told that there was not anything unusual about the armed operation in the South-East. According to him, it is a natural part of the Nigeria’s security process. “The police could never have been able to cope with it alone. We must not pretend that there is no military presence in Nigeria” stated Victor Iyanam.

He also added that a verdict on the security situation is neither judicial nor legislative. It is the President`s prerogative. “Buhari cannot afford himself to be a do-nothing leader just so that he would be considered a democrat,” concluded Mr. Iyanam.