The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has formally distanced itself from Finland-based separatist agitator Simon Ekpa, declaring that his recent conviction in Helsinki bears no connection to the pro-Biafra movement.
IPOB, in a swift response, insisted that Ekpa has never been a member of the organisation and has no authority to speak for its cause.
In a statement signed by IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, the group noted that the matter of Ekpa’s non-membership had already been “judicially settled” in Finland.
“The record is clear,” IPOB said. “Under oath in a Finnish court, we testified that Simon Ekpa has never held any position in IPOB or its security wing, the Eastern Security Network. Even Ekpa himself admitted he was merely a ‘content creator’ and boasted that he had disowned IPOB.”
The separatist group accused Ekpa of creating “parallel contraptions” such as the so-called Biafra Government in Exile, Biafra Liberation Army (BLA), and Biafra Defence Force (BDF)—entities that IPOB said it had repudiated and condemned.
Reaffirming its stance, IPOB stressed that it is a peaceful movement registered under international law, committed to self-determination through non-violent means.
“Let it be recorded,” the statement read, “IPOB is not on trial in Finland, nor in Nigeria. The only case before the court in Abuja is the persecution of one man — Mazi Nnamdi Kanu — for daring to demand freedom peacefully.”
Kanu, IPOB’s detained leader, has been facing trial in Nigeria since his extraordinary rendition from Kenya in 2021, a move widely condemned by international rights groups as unlawful.
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IPOB further alleged that linking Ekpa’s conviction to its activities was part of a deliberate misinformation campaign by the Nigerian state. The group suggested that the timing of the conviction was being exploited to influence the outcome of Kanu’s ongoing trial before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
“The Nigerian state is orchestrating this smear campaign as a diversionary tactic, precisely to contaminate the upcoming ruling on Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s no-case submission, now adjourned until October 10, 2025,” the statement claimed.
It accused the Federal Government of “buying time to inject irrelevant narratives such as Ekpa’s conviction in order to corrupt judicial reasoning.”
IPOB urged the European Union, Finland, United Kingdom, United States, and the United Nations to resist any attempt to misuse the Finnish judgment against IPOB or Kanu.
“The Finnish court exonerated IPOB of any link to Simon Ekpa. We demand clarity be issued to Nigeria to stop this malicious misuse,” the group said.
It also recalled that both the UK and US had previously condemned Kanu’s extraordinary rendition, insisting that the UN must hold Nigeria accountable for violating international law.
“The Nigerian government is prosecuting a self-determination leader in violation of the UN Charter,” IPOB maintained. “Silence in the face of weaponised judiciary is complicity.”
Ekpa, who has styled himself as the “Prime Minister of Biafra Government in Exile,” was on Monday sentenced to six years in prison by a Finnish court for terrorism-related activities. The conviction followed months of investigation into his online broadcasts and alleged role in financing violent activities in Nigeria’s South-East.
Vanguard
