Southeast Stakeholders Call For Simon Ekpa’s Sentencing, Nnamdi Kanu’s Freedom [Details]

The recent arrest of the self-acclaimed Prime Minister of Biafra, Simon Ekpa, in Finland has brought about discussion among some South-East leaders, with many of them seeking the freedom of the embattled leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, and asking for the sentencing of the former.

Naija News reports that last Thursday, Finnish authorities apprehended Ekpa along with four other individuals, who the Päijät-Häme district court later remanded for allegedly disseminating terrorist propaganda via social media.

The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) revealed that Ekpa, who holds dual citizenship in Finland and Nigeria, is under suspicion for publicly encouraging actions with terrorist intent.

Additionally, there are allegations related to the financing of terrorism.

Chief Inspector Otto Hiltunen, who is leading the investigation, stated that Ekpa is believed to have utilized his social media channels to provoke violence against civilians and public officials in Southeastern Nigeria.

Reacting to the development, a former Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Osita Okechukwu, said Ekpa should be sentenced in Finland or Nigeria to pay for his crimes in the Southeast.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain said Ekpa’s arrest was long overdue.

“His arrest was long overdue. About two years ago, I met the Director General of NIA, and he said they were making efforts, but there were no bilateral diplomatic efforts with Finland.

“I urged him to intensify their efforts because Ekpa is a criminal and a murderer; because of him, a lot of people have lost their lives in the Southeast.

“He has grounded the economy of the Southeast for no just cause, so I commend the diplomatic efforts of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar and our security agencies for the long hunt for fugitive Simon Ekpa.

“I totally disagree with Ekpa’s strategy of committing heinous crimes against Ndigbo and grounding the Southeast geopolitical zone.

“There are better strategies to halt the marginalisation of our people, which is not by killings and maiming. I call for his sentence whether in Finland or in Nigeria,” Okechukwu told the Daily Post.

Killings In South-East

Naija News reports that Simon Ekpa’s arrest occurs against the backdrop of escalating insecurity in Southeastern Nigeria, where armed groups have been instilling fear in the populace while purporting to advocate for the establishment of the sovereign state of Biafra.

These armed individuals have been wreaking havoc in the Southeast, asserting that they are enforcing the Monday sit-at-home directive originally introduced by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to compel the Nigerian Government to release Nnamdi Kanu.

However, IPOB, which has since suspended the sit-at-home order, has repeatedly disassociated itself from Ekpa, emphasizing that he is not affiliated with their organization.

Releasing Nnamdi Kanu Key To Addressing Insecurity In Southeast – Abaribe

In response to Ekpa’s arrest, Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe of Abia South stated that the release of Kanu is the key to addressing the insecurity in the Southeast rather than Ekpa’s detention.

Abaribe asserted that Kanu’s release would help distinguish genuine Biafra advocates from those criminals posing as armed militants.

He said: “You want Biafra fine, but do you get Biafra by killing the same Biafrans you want? How does murdering people, killing people, going around killing policemen, spreading mayhem, and burning police stations help you?

“Everyone one of them claims that it’s because Nnamdi Kanu is incarcerated that why the Southeast is experiencing insecurity but it will end when Nnamdi Kanu comes out, then we now know who is a genuine agitator and a criminal.

“When Kanu comes out, then he will know his followers. Nobody will have a reason to say we are burning down this police station or killing this person.”

A retired captain of the United States Army, as well as a National Defence and Military Strategist, Bishop Johnson Ambrose, expressed that the Finnish government’s approach to Ekpa’s arrest could significantly influence his promotion of violence and bloodshed in the Southeast.

He stated that the financial backers of Ekpa’s activities in the Southeast are likely to withdraw their support if he is held responsible in Finland.

“Simon Ekpa’s arrest will have an impact on the Southeast depending on how it’s handled by the Finnish government.

“If the Finnish government holds Ekpa and his accomplices – those sponsoring his operations, if they hold him accountable in Finland not here in Nigeria, it will have an impact.

“The incitement coming from him will no longer be viable and those sponsoring him will stop, the incitement will end; that is if he’s held accountable in Finland,” he told journalists in a recent interview.

He, however, observed that Ekpa’s arrest might take a negative turn in the Southeast if deported to Nigeria and detained like Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.

He said: “If he’s extradited to Nigeria, there is the possibility that instead of his arrest having a positive impact, it might even lead to more violence because Nigeria as a country is very notorious for its abysmal human rights records.

“If you have a situation where Ekpa is extradited to Nigeria and is kept in the same condition Nnamdi Kanu is kept in, there would be those offended that two Igbo sons are dumped in a DSS dungeon and are inhumanely treated.

“So, if you have that situation, then his arrest will lead to a negative impact instead of having a positive impact. It may also lead to bloodletting and destruction in the Southeast.”

Johnson noted that Ekpa’s arrest could further inflame the Southeast if his loyalists noticed that he was not subjected to due process.

“If there is due process and he is found guilty and held accountable for all the incitement in the Southeast, but anything contrary to that, if there is jungle justice, if the judicial process is bungled, it will inflame some of the people he has here on ground because Ekpa does not operate in a vacuum, there are loyalists who follow him.

“It all depends on how his arrest is handled and if he’s properly prosecuted, if he’s held accountable for all the loss of lives and damage to properties as a result of his actions,” he added.

He maintained that the combination of Kanu’s release and Ekpa’s arrest would restore peace in the Southeast.

“I think a combination of both would work because if Ekpa is held accountable for all the incitement in Finland that he created, which led to loss of lives in the Southeast and Kanu is released, then peace can be restored.

“Most of the time, not all of the people who perpetrate criminal activities in the Southeast are real agitators; there are criminals who have capitalized on Kanu’s incarceration and absence to commit all sorts of criminal activities.

“So, if Kanu is freed, we would have denied those people the excuse they used to commit crimes.

“With Kanu’s release, we will be able to separate the real agitators for self-determination from the criminal elements that have used the opportunity for their selfish interests,” he said.

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