Africa
Nigerian top general claims that Finland is providing shelter to Simon Ekpa
General Christopher Musa, the head of Nigeria’s military forces, has said that Finland is shielding Simon Ekpa, the head of a separatist organisation, whose activities Abuja believes are aggravating security issues in the nation’s unstable southeast.
The prime minister of the Biafra Republic Government in Exile (BRGIE), a separatist movement vying for independence from Africa’s most populous country, is Ekpa, a Finnish lawyer who was born in Nigeria. In southeastern Nigeria, Biafra was a sovereign state from 1967 to 1970, but it was overthrown by the Nigerian military following a bloody three-year civil war.
The political activist from Finland, Musa, and reports from local media sources claim that the activist has called for rallies on several occasions to pressure the federal government into freeing Nnamdi Kanu, the head of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) organisation. After being caught in Kenya and extradited in 2021, Kanu is accused of activity and advocating for the separation of Biafra.
Numerous local media sources have asserted that protests in response to Ekpa’s actions frequently result in violence and fatalities in the Southeast.
Musa insisted that the government respond to Ekpa’s “disruptive” actions right away during a Tuesday security briefing to the House of Representatives in Nigeria.
Simon Ekpa has turned into a threat to this nation. The nation needs to take diplomatic action on it. Finland has a motorway that motivates him to carry out his actions. His words and deeds have an impact on the situation in Nigeria. The commander declared, “We should never let that.
Musa asked that Leena Pylvanainen, the Finnish ambassador to Nigeria, be called upon to explain why her nation still shields the separatist leader.
“They need to give an explanation for why they are shielding him when he is hurting us more. Numerous individuals are losing their lives as a result of his words. We can’t just stand by and say nothing,” he continued.
Pylvanainen had previously been invited by Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be questioned on purported threats made by the activist for Biafra.
At his residence in Finland, Ekpa was taken into custody earlier this year on charges of instigating violence in southeast Nigeria, which allegedly led to fatal attacks on candidates during the nation’s February elections. The car carrying the body of opposition Labour Party senatorial candidate Chukwu Oyibo was set on fire after he was assassinated in the state of Enugu while returning from the campaign trail.
Ekpa attacked the Nigerian government while refuting the accusations. Since then, he’s been let free. The Finnish police stated that they were looking into him for a potential offence related to “money collection,” among other things.
Security problems have long existed in parts of southeast Nigeria, which is predominantly inhabited by Igbo people. These problems have been made worse by the ongoing battle between the national army and the IPOB, an organisation that wants to secede. The organisation has long lamented the federal government’s marginalisation and oppression of them.