‘It’s his burden’ — IPOB disowns Simon Ekpa after terrorism conviction

The Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) has again distanced itself from Simon Ekpa, a pro-Biafra agitator.

On Monday, the Päijät-Häme district court in Finland sentenced Ekpa to six years in prison for terrorism-related offences.

The Finnish court found Ekpa guilty of inciting terrorism and participating in the activities of a terrorist group.

The court ruled that Ekpa had used his “significant social media following” to stoke tensions in Nigeria’s south-east region between August 2021 and November 2024.

A statement by Emmanuel Powerful, IPOB spokesperson, said Ekpa had told the Finnish court that he is not a member of IPOB but a “content creator”.

Powerful said before the arrest and trial of Ekpa in Finland, he disowned IPOB and vowed to “destroy the organisation”.

“IPOB, under oath in a Finnish court, testified that Simon Ekpa has never held any position in IPOB or ESN,” the statement reads.

“Ekpa created his own parallel contraptions: ‘Biafra Government in Exile’, ‘Biafra Liberation Army (BLA),” and “Biafra Defence Force (BDF)’ — entities repudiated and condemned by IPOB

“Any narrative linking Ekpa’s personal downfall to IPOB is therefore deliberate misinformation — a calculated lie, knowingly repeated to deceive.

“Simon Ekpa’s conviction is his burden and his alone. IPOB will never carry it.”

Powerful added that Ekpa’s conviction should not be used as a plot to “contaminate” the ruling on the no-case submission filed by Nnamdi Kanu, IPOB leader, at the federal high court in Abuja.

Ekpa is the self-acclaimed disciple of Kanu. He fell out with IPOB after Kanu was extradited to Nigeria from Kenya in June 2021.

After the relationship between Ekpa and IPOB turned sour, the Finland-based agitator formed a splinter secessionist group.

On numerous occasions, IPOB had distanced itself from the activities and directives of Ekpa.