Some Senators representing the Southeast have condemned the methods of the military operation, Operation Python Dance II, which was inaugurated a few days ago.

In a statement on Tuesday, the chairman of the South-east Senate caucus said the Igbo senators viewed the military operation as one that could compromise their ongoing engagement with the Nnamdi Kanu-led Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which the lawmakers suggested were exercising their constitutionally-backed rights.

The ongoing operation was, according to the Army, intended to check kidnapping, banditry, assassination, secessionist activities within the region, amongst other forms of criminal activities.

Their statement read, “We had hoped that our ongoing engagement with the group would be given a chance but here we are with a hurried military action deep into a highly populated area with a high propensity for casualty, which occurrence would rather escalate the already tense situation.

“It is more worrisome that military operation, ‘Python Dance II,’ restricted to the South-east in a peace time, has no doubt fouled the environment and sent a strong signal that the region is under siege, which should not be so in a democracy.

“We, therefore, urge extreme caution and advise the military to de-escalate the situation and choose the best operational modus that will not only guaranty the safety of Nigerians but also enhance national unity.

“Nigeria is not at war, people are only exercising their constitutional and universally guaranteed rights, so far they are carrying on in a manner that has never given room to violence which could warrant a wholesale military expedition.”