Amid Simon Ekpa’s arrest in Finland, Southeast stakeholders have called for his sentencing and urged the Nigerian government to release Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Ekpa, a self-proclaimed Prime Minister of Biafra, was detained alongside four others by Finnish authorities for allegedly spreading terrorist propaganda and financing terrorism. Chief Inspector Otto Hiltunen of Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation stated that Ekpa’s actions from abroad incited violence and other crimes in Southeastern Nigeria.
Abia South Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe argued that releasing Kanu is critical to resolving insecurity in the region. According to Abaribe, “When Kanu comes out, then we now know who is a genuine agitator and who is a criminal.”
Similarly, retired U.S. Army Captain Bishop Johnson emphasized the need for due process in Ekpa’s prosecution. He warned that extraditing Ekpa to Nigeria without fairness could escalate violence, but proper accountability in Finland could help reduce incitement and funding for violence in the region.
Former Voice of Nigeria Director General Osita Okechukwu commended Ekpa’s arrest and demanded his sentencing for the harm inflicted on the Southeast. He criticized Ekpa’s methods, stating that they have caused unnecessary economic and social harm.
Stakeholders believe that a combination of Kanu’s release and Ekpa’s sentencing could restore peace and separate genuine self-determination agitators from criminal elements exploiting the unrest in the Southeast.
