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Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, yesterday advised the military to exercise caution and professionalism while carrying out its Operation Crocodile Smile II in the state.
Dickson said only professionalism and the rule of engagement would make the Nigerian Army to enjoy the maximum support of the government and people of the state.
He, however, said he was in full support of the operation and called on the Bayelsa people to cooperate with the military.
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A statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Francis Ottah Agbo, said the exercise would commence on Wednesday, October 11, 2017 and end on Saturday, October 28, 2017 in the Southwest and Southsouth states.
The governor said the operation would protect law-abiding citizens, rid the state of pirates and criminal elements, as well as safeguard the waterways.
While assuring that the military will provide additional security and protect innocent citizens during the exercise, Dickson urged Bayelsans not to panic.
Meanwhile, the Niger Delta Indigenous Movement for Radical Change (NDIMRC), has condemned the Federal Government for again, ordering the operation crocodile smile in the region.
The group said they were surprised that the Federal Government was launching another military operation at a time oil production has increased because militants had stopped bombing oil installations.
In a statement signed by its President, Nelly Emma, Secretary, John Sailor and Public Relations Office (PRO) Stanley Mukoro, the group alleged that the planned operation was being carried out to allocate oil blocs to northerners.
“Our investigations revealed that oil blocs in the Niger Delta Region would soon be allocated 100 per cent to the North hence the planned declaration of Crocodile Smile in the region so that the owners of the oil will be wiped out if they resist the allocation of their God given resources.
“Let it be made clear that the injustice that is about to be carried out against the peace loving people of the Niger Delta Region will not stand and no amount of Crocodile Smile can stop the people whose time has come,” the group stated.
