Biafra: ‘Tinubu Should Take Steps To Extradite Ekpa’

The chairman of the Forum of National Youth Leaders of all Political Parties in Nigeria, Eze Chukwu, has urged President Bola Tinubu to adopt measures similar to those used to address the Niger Delta militancy in dealing with restiveness in the South-East.

In an interview on Friday in Abuja, Chukwu proposed that extending an amnesty program or similar reconciliatory gestures to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) could help curb the violence in the region.

He traced the origins of the agitation to the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), which, according to him, later birthed IPOB.

He explained that both movements were formed to highlight perceived injustices against the Igbo people.

Chukwu said, “I am convinced that if the Igbo are given their due place in the scheme of things, the idea of Biafra agitation wouldn’t have arisen in the first place and if the needful is done before now, the agitation would have been put to rest.

“Now that the self-acclaimed leaders of IPOB have been arrested, it will be wise for the government to ensure that no other leader emerges by acting fast to proffer a solution to this age-long problem.

“My dear President, let the federal government step up action to extradite Mazi Simon Ekpa as well as issue a statement on plans to solve this problem in the South-East once and for all.

“I suggest amnesty for IPOB as it was with the former militants in the Niger Delta. This will calm nerves and deter further problems as well as the emergence of another IPOB leader.”

He said Mr Tinubu would write his name in gold if he restored normalcy in the zone.

“You will be recognised alive, and you will be remembered in death. My joy that Ekpa is arrested is because it will lead to the end of the sit-at-home saga as well as violent crime associated with their actions,” he said.

He said that with the establishment of the South-East Development Commission, it would be easier to rehabilitate members of IPOB if they surrendered their arms in the event of the amnesty programme.