How IPOB Reacted After Simon Ekpa’s Conviction in Finland
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has distanced itself from Simon Ekpa following his six-year conviction for terrorism offences in Finland, insisting that his activities have no connection with the movement.
In a statement on Monday, IPOB spokesperson Emma Powerful described attempts to link Ekpa to the organisation as “a brazen fraud against truth and justice.”
The group stressed that the issue of Ekpa’s non-membership was already settled in a Finnish court, where both IPOB and Ekpa testified under oath. IPOB said the court heard that Ekpa never held any role within the group or its armed wing, ESN, and that he had in fact disowned IPOB and vowed to destroy it.
According to the statement, Ekpa created his own parallel structures including the so-called “Biafra Government in Exile,” “Biafra Liberation Army (BLA),” and “Biafra Defence Force (BDF)” which IPOB repudiated.
IPOB accused the Federal Government of using Ekpa’s conviction as a “diversionary tactic” to influence the upcoming ruling on its detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu, whose no-case submission is due before Justice James Omotosho on 10 October.
“The Nigerian state is orchestrating this smear campaign to corrupt judicial reasoning,” IPOB alleged, describing the adjournment of Kanu’s case as “judicial hostage-taking.”
The group also called on foreign governments and international bodies, including the EU, US, UK, UN and Finland, to intervene.
“Simon Ekpa’s conviction is his burden and his alone. IPOB will never carry it,” the statement read, reiterating that the movement remains a peaceful organisation committed to lawful self-determination
