IPOB Lawyer Blames S’East Leaders, Politicians for Simon Ekpa’s Terrorism Campaign

By OOlisemeka Obeche

Human rights lawyer and counsel for the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Barrister Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has accused South-East politicians and leaders of complicity in the terrorism activities of convicted Finland-based pro-Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa in the South-East region.

Ejiofor, in a statement issued on Wednesday, argued that politicians and leaders in the South-East have further confirmed their alignment with Ekpa’s violent, gruesome killings in the region with their silence since the news of Ekpa’s conviction by a Finnish court filtered the media space.

“While some carried out atrocities with machetes and guns, others, perhaps more dangerous, have inflicted a worse sacrilege with their tongues and keyboards: the promoters, the apologists, the social-media enablers who have glorified crime and cloaked terrorism in the false garment of agitation,” Ejiofor stated.

AnambraDaily reported that the Päijät-Häme District Court in Finland convicted and sentenced Ekpa to six years in prison on terrorism charges. According to the court decision, Ekpa was found guilty of inciting terrorism in Nigeria.

He was also said to have promoted the independence of the Biafra region through illegal means between 2021 and 2024. Other accusations included aggravated tax fraud and violations of the Lawyers Act.

Ejiofor lamented that for years, South-East bled profusely from the devastation and carnage unleashed by Ekpa and his foot soldiers.

“No family, clan or kindred has been spared. Nearly every household has a story, a brother butchered, a sister shot, a mother abducted, a friend or even a distant relative gruesomely murdered,” the lawyer stated.

He continued, “What deepens the wound is that, after every bloody outing, Simon Ekpa mounted his online pulpit not to console or condemn, but to celebrate.

“He glorified the fear his agents sowed, boasted of their “successes,” and urged yet more terror.

“His cheerleaders online clap for him and defend the indefensible, even when he posts grisly evidence of executions and barbarism on Igbo soil.

“Our political class is no less complicit. Many so-called leaders, by their silence or covert association, have given oxygen to Simon’s fire.

“Tell me: how many Igbo politicians have publicly spoken about his conviction? Their lips are sealed; their consciences bought by cowardice, complicity or convenience. But that, perhaps, is a tale for another day.”

Ejiofor questions how long the people of the South-East will live under what he described as the tyranny of fear.

“How many more mothers must wail before our elites rise to their responsibility? How many graves shall be dug before truth is spoken with courage?”

He stressed, “Evil thrives where good men keep silent, and today’s silence will be tomorrow’s complicity.”

Ejiofor said that leadership failure in Nigeria created fertile ground for vulnerability, but murder, kidnapping and terror can never be the balm for pain.

“To those who dance to Simon’s drumbeat online, let me sound a solemn warning: the same fire you fan today may consume you tomorrow,” he stated.

“Many before you have already fallen victim to this evil pattern. It is only a matter of time.”

He added, “The struggle must be purified. The methodology must be interrogated. The character of those who lead must be weighed. And the blood of the innocent must never again be shed in the name of freedom.”