There is currently no denying that the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a secessionist organization, has a significant leadership fracture.
Obasanjonews24 says that the group’s founder and leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, and his supporters have declared war on Simon Ekpa, a former soldier who lives in Finland and is thought to be from Ebonyi State, in order to take control of the group.
Furthermore, there have been claims that Ekpa and other gang members are responsible for the violence in the South-East States.
About three years ago, Simon Ekpa, an erstwhile ally of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, gained notoriety. Before he joined the army, the former Finnish soldier was an athlete who competed for Nigeria and won a few awards. He then moved to another country.
But the accolades he needed came from his identification with Kanu. Ekpa frequently identified himself in broadcast communications as an unashamed follower of Nnamdi Kanu, using the names IPOB and Kanu. People who are familiar with Ekpa claim that he held different broadcast messages from Kanu’s own and that he supported Kanu to the point of being a valued associate of his.
But Kanu’s arrest in Kenya last year marked a turning point for Ekpa, who began to assume leadership and even went as far as to solicit donations and try to take control of IPOB’s Eastern Security Network military wing (ESN). The Directorate of State (DOS), which was in charge of the organization in the absence of Kanu, made vain attempts to stop him.
Ekpa rejected DOS, saying that IPOB was operating autonomously and that no one was in control of it. As a result, he refused to submit to DOS. Before Kanu’s incarceration, Ekpa had collaborated closely with Kanu, even in the creation of the ESN, according to a source who claimed to be an IPOB member but asked to remain anonymous.
He is well knowledgeable about how IPOB operates. He had a tight relationship with Kanu, and no one will even concede that at some point he would rebel against the same Kanu, whom he had previously referred to as the supreme commander and whom he had claimed as his student.
“I believe he is just a gregarious person since, even before Kanu was arrested, he once tried to raise money through our brothers who were stationed abroad. But he only fully came out and revealed himself following Kanu’s incarceration.
Kanu made several unsuccessful attempts to clip his wings, even while he was imprisoned. He cultivated a coterie of radicals for himself through his broadcasts; they called themselves the autopilot group. The majority of his lads who are acting as armed men are Kanu’s ESN breakaway boys, whom Ekpa recruited and has been utilizing for evil, he claimed.
According to the source, Ekpa maintained a camp in a section of Ihiala during the height of the unrest in Anambra State before the state governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, drove them out. His boys were reportedly among those who were begging for money before any ceremony could take place.
“You know the legendary bandit dubbed Double Lion, who was slain early this year in Ihiala,” our informant said. He was one of many boys working for Ekpa. Additionally, IPOB has its own soldiers that serve as security in whichever location they find themselves. Their main issue was that they would object to having police in any place where they established themselves. Locals were welcomed by them, but Ekpa’s boys preferred to terrorize them.
“You will recall that after Double Lion was murdered, Anambra grew a little calmer. You might also be interested to hear that a special ESN squad, which believed that Ekpa and his boys were damaging their reputation, executed Double Lion and his men rather than the police or federal forces. The IPOB side led by Ekpa and Kanu has been at odds for a while, but they are working to keep it quiet.
Speaking from Finland last week, Ekpa ordered a five-day stay-at-home period in the five south-eastern states. No explanation for the proclamation was given, but Ekpa stated that December 9, 10, 11, 12, and 14 had been designated as stay-at-home days when speaking on the internet program Have Your Say, which is hosted by US-based journalist Rudolf Okonkwo. He declared that anyone who ventured out would face consequences. Additionally, he said that the group was only interested in the restoration of Biafra and that it might disrupt the South-East election in 2023.
Even though many towns in the South East went about their business as usual on the first day of the sit-at-home protest, there were violent incidents in the following days, especially in the states of Enugu and Imo. This makes it possible that Ekpa and his men decided to follow through on their threat.
Meanwhile, IPOB spokesperson Mr. Emma Powerful advised the public to disregard Ekpa and go about their daily lives.
“IPOB never told us to stay home on the days listed above because we are not criminals, crazy, or out of work,” he said.
“IPOB, which cares about our people, cannot impose such a mindless, heartless 5-day consecutive stay-at-home order to punish our people at this crucial time of the year when individuals are attempting to make up lost ground in their businesses for the year,” the statement reads.
Powerful disregarded the attempt to sabotage the 2023 election when he said, “Again, everyone has the right to visit their pooling and registration center to pick up their PVC without being harassed.” The shoddy polls in Nigeria have nothing to do with IPOB, which never engages in election boycotting. Any fool who dared impose such a horrible “sit-at-home rule” should be met with resistance by our people, who should be ready and willing to do so. To further defend our people and the markets, IPOB volunteers and ESN agents will be on the streets during these times.
Kanu, who is still being held in a DSS detention center in Abuja, is said to have told his lawyer to talk to Emma Powerful and the Directorate of State right away about canceling the sit-at-home. This seemed like him taking the fight into his own hands.
According to reports, Kanu had sobbed over the recent spate of killings in Igbo territory, attributing them to people who he said were Igbos but had long since sold their consciences and were determined to destroy Igbo land. Although Kanu did not specifically mention Ekpa, he said that those responsible for the assassination were doing it to prevent the federal government from freeing him because they were using IPOB’s name to do crime.
In an interview with Obasanjonews24, public affairs analyst Mr. Paul Ebe blamed Kanu for all the killings in the South-East.
He asked, “Why is he crying like a crocodile today?” Is it because he is having someone else do for him what he would love to accomplish on his own?
“He organized the killing in its entirety.” Could we have forgotten about the times he used to command his troops to assassinate security personnel, whom he referred to as “zoo security,” on Radio Biafra? He is weeping like a crocodile because the seed he planted has begun to yield fruit. Regarding what he is going through, I have no sympathy for him.
However, Obasanjonews24 has learned that Kanu’s attorney, Barr Nnaemeka Ejiofor, has begun the process of filing a lawsuit against Ekpa for his illegal actions in the South-East while utilizing IPOB.
According to rumors, Ekpa is supported by a presidential contender who wants to reduce the power of a south-eastern candidate for Nigeria’s presidency. Many residents in the South and East, where the presidential contender enjoys strong support, are reportedly considering abandoning voting if there is violence.
As this report was being written, many IPOB members who are part of the Kanu group had declared “war” on Ekpa and reported his social media accounts, some of which have since been shut down.
