Our Reporter
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPoB) has disowned Finland-based self-acclaimed Biafra Auto Pilot, Mazi Simon Ekpa, saying he has never been its member.
IPoB, in a statement by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, said any attempt to link Ekpa with IPoB was a ploy to indict its Leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who is currently standing trial in Nigeria.
The statement came a few hours after Ekpa was sentenced to six years in prison by a Finnish court on Monday for terrorism-related activities.
IPoB argued that “the question of Simon Ekpa’s non-membership of IPOB is already judicially settled in Finland.”
“The record is clear, IPOB under oath in a Finnish court testified that Simon Ekpa has never held any position in IPOB or ESN,” the statement said.
Continuing, it read: “Ekpa himself, under oath, described himself merely as a ‘content creator,’ admitted he disowned IPOB, and boasted that he would destroy IPOB.”
IPoB insisted that it remains a nonviolent organisation and has always renounced violence.
“Let it be recorded: IPOB is a peaceful movement registered under international law, committed to lawful self-determination. This case in Abuja is not about IPOB’s legitimacy; it is about the persecution of one man — Mazi Nnamdi Kanu — for daring to demand freedom through peaceful means.”
The statement further said: “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.”
IPoB said that “any narrative linking Ekpa’s personal downfall to IPOB is therefore deliberate misinformation — a calculated lie, knowingly repeated to deceive.”
The statement further alleged that linking Ekpa with IPoB was a smokescreen to undermine justice in the ongoing trial of its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
It said: “The Nigerian state is orchestrating this smear campaign as a diversionary tactic, timed precisely to contaminate the upcoming ruling on Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s no-case submission before Justice James Omotosho, now adjourned until 10 October 2025.”
IPoB asked: Why the unexplained delay in delivering judgment when the Federal Government has failed to establish even a prima facie case? The answer is obvious: they are buying time to inject irrelevant and extraneous narratives like Ekpa’s conviction, in a bid to corrupt judicial reasoning.
“This is not justice. It is judicial hostage-taking — a weaponization of the courts to sustain persecution.”
IPoB urged the global community, especially the European Union and Finland, not to allow any miscarriage of justice against Kanu based on Ekpa’s example.
“You bear direct responsibility for ensuring your judicial findings are not misrepresented abroad. The Finnish court exonerated IPOB of any link to Simon Ekpa. We demand clarity be issued to Nigeria to stop this malicious misuse.”
IPoB noted that the United Kingdom and United States had both condemned Nigeria’s extraordinary rendition of Kanu from Kenya, urging them to ensure justice in his trial.
It also called on the United Nations to hold Nigeria accountable for prosecuting the leader of a self-determination movement in violation of the UN Charter.
“The Nigerian government is persecuting a self-determination leader in violation of the UN Charter,” IPOB said.
“Silence in the face of a weaponized judiciary is complicity,” IPoB told the UN.
IPoB, under the leadership of Kanu, has consistently distanced itself from Ekpa, who is being fingered for the persistent Monday sit-at-home orders in the South East.
