The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has dismissed suggestions that it played any role in the conviction of Simon Ekpa, the self-proclaimed Prime Minister of Biafra, who was recently sentenced to six years in prison in Finland.
In a statement issued by its spokesperson, Emma Powerful, IPOB insisted that Ekpa has no ties with the organisation and must face the consequences of his actions alone.
“This is a brazen fraud against truth and justice,” Powerful said. “The world must know that Simon Ekpa’s non-membership in IPOB is already judicially settled in Finland. Under oath, IPOB testified that he never held any position in IPOB or the ESN. Ekpa himself admitted he disowned IPOB, described himself as a ‘content creator,’ and even boasted that he would destroy the movement.”
He added that Ekpa created his own breakaway structures, including the “Biafra Government in Exile,” “Biafra Liberation Army (BLA),” and “Biafra Defence Force (BDF),” which IPOB has publicly condemned. Linking his conviction to IPOB, he said, is deliberate misinformation.
Powerful further accused the Nigerian government of exploiting the case as a “smokescreen” to derail IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu’s upcoming court ruling on October 10, 2025. “The state is orchestrating this smear campaign to contaminate the no-case submission of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu before Justice James Omotosho,” he claimed.
He argued that the delay in delivering judgment shows that authorities are attempting to inject “irrelevant narratives like Ekpa’s conviction” into the process. “This is not justice. It is judicial hostage-taking and persecution,” he warned.
The group also appealed to the European Union, Finland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the United Nations to ensure that IPOB is not misrepresented internationally. According to the statement, the Finnish court had already cleared IPOB of any connection to Ekpa.
“Simon Ekpa’s conviction is his burden and his alone. IPOB will never carry it,” Powerful declared, warning that the world’s attention would be on Justice Omotosho. “Any ruling tainted by this manufactured smokescreen will be rejected as null and void by history, law, and the international community.”