The Indigenous People of Biafra on Tuesday declared Operation David Dance, a week after the Nigerian Army launched its Operation Python Dance in the South-East geopolitical zone.
In a statement in Awka, Anambra State, by IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, the group urged its members to exercise restraint in dealing with security agents.
It said God would not permit the extermination of its members because they were innocuous in their struggle.
The statement read in part, “IPOB worldwide advises the people of Biafra and IPOB members to be sure they don’t fall victim in the hands of the Pharaohs’ soldiers called Operation Python Dance in the South-East.
“IPOB devises a means of Operation David Dance which is recognised by the God Almighty in the Bible. It was the dance that gave David victory against Goliath at the battlefront because God Almighty does not sleep.
“We are also aware that the world knows that the annual report from Amnesty International against the cold-blooded killing of unarmed members of IPOB in Nigeria by the security agents are correct and even the soldiers know that the reports are correct.
“There is no way you can deny something that happened in broad daylight and every single individual saw how they killed people randomly in the streets.
“IPOB is a properly organised group which adopted a non-violent approach towards the realisation of God’s project and truth. God, the Almighty, is on the side of Biafrans and He will liberate his people from the shackles of bondage.”
The army had about a week ago inaugurated Operation Python Dance to ensure a crime-free Yuletide and free flow of traffic in the zone during the festivities.
The pro-Biafran agitators and some rights groups had criticised the army’s action, saying it would inflict hardship on the people of the area.
Meanwhile, a former deputy governor of Akwa Ibom State, Dr. Chris Ekpenyong, has cautioned pro-Biafran agitators against the inclusion of South-South states in their agitation for an independent country.
He advised militants to quit further destruction of oil facilities in the region to avoid worsening the challenges of poverty already facing the Niger Delta people.