{"id":177154,"date":"2025-09-01T18:26:06","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T17:26:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland"},"modified":"2025-09-01T19:36:21","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T18:36:21","slug":"ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland","title":{"rendered":"IPOB Responds to Simon Ekpa&#8217;s Conviction in Finland"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has distanced itself from the recent conviction of Simon Ekpa in Finland, stressing that his activities have no connection with the group.<\/p>\n<p>The group accused the Nigerian government of launching a smear campaign to discredit its detained leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement signed by its spokesperson, Emma Powerful, IPOB described the reported attempt to link Ekpa to its movement as \u201ca brazen fraud against truth and justice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The group said, \u201cThe world must know that the question of Simon Ekpa\u2019s non-membership in IPOB is already judicially settled in Finland,\u201d the group declared.<\/p>\n<p>According to the group, it had, alongside Simon Ekpa, testified in a Finnish court where it was made clear that he had no ties to the organization.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIPOB under oath in a Finnish court testified that Simon Ekpa has never held any position in IPOB or ESN. Ekpa himself under oath described himself merely as a \u2018content creator,\u2019 admitted he disowned IPOB, and boasted that he would destroy IPOB,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n<p>The group further accused Ekpa of creating parallel structures in contradiction to IPOB\u2019s ideology.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEkpa created his own contraptions: \u2018Biafra Government in Exile,\u2019 \u2018Biafra Liberation Army (BLA),\u2019 and \u2018Biafra Defence Force, BDF,\u2019 all of which, IPOB repudiated and condemned,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n<p>It insisted that any attempt to associate Ekpa\u2019s conviction with IPOB amounted to \u201cdeliberate misinformation \u2014 a calculated lie, knowingly repeated to deceive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>IPOB alleged that the Federal Government was deliberately using Ekpa\u2019s case as a diversionary tactic to influence judicial proceedings in the trial of Nnamdi Kanu, whose no-case submission ruling before Justice James Omotosho has been adjourned until October 10, 2025.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Nigerian state is orchestrating this smear campaign as a diversionary tactic, timed precisely to contaminate the upcoming ruling on Mazi Nnamdi Kanu\u2019s no-case submission.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy the unexplained delay in delivering judgment when the Federal Government has failed to establish even a prima facie case?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe answer is obvious: they are buying time to inject irrelevant and extraneous narratives like Ekpa\u2019s conviction, in a bid to corrupt judicial reasoning,\u201d IPOB alleged.<\/p>\n<p>It described the adjournment as \u201cjudicial hostage-taking, a weaponization of the courts to sustain persecution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The group also appealed to foreign governments and institutions, including the European Union, Finland, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the United Nations, to intervene in the matter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Finnish court exonerated IPOB of any link to Simon Ekpa. We demand clarity be issued to Nigeria to stop this malicious misuse,\u201d the group urged.<\/p>\n<p>Addressing Western nations, IPOB said: \u201cYou have both condemned Nigeria\u2019s extraordinary rendition of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from Kenya. If you are true to your principles, you must also condemn this latest charade \u2014 an attempt to derail a fair trial by importing lies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It further called on the United Nations to act, warning that \u201cthe Nigerian government is persecuting a self-determination leader in violation of the UN Charter. Silence in the face of a weaponized judiciary is complicity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Reaffirming its position, IPOB insisted that Simon Ekpa must bear his own burden.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSimon Ekpa\u2019s conviction is his burden and his alone. IPOB will never carry it. IPOB is a peaceful movement registered under international law, committed to lawful self-determination.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis case in Abuja is not about IPOB\u2019s legitimacy; it is about the persecution of one man \u2014 Mazi Nnamdi Kanu \u2014 for daring to demand freedom through peaceful means,\u201d the group declared.<\/p>\n<p>IPOB said Nigeria risked further damage to its image if it continued to misrepresent facts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNigeria stands today at the bar of world opinion. Persist in this fraud, and you confirm yourselves a rogue state where the rule of law is dead,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Nigeria<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has distanced itself from the recent conviction of Simon Ekpa in Finland, stressing that his activities have no connection with the group. The group accused the Nigerian government of launching a smear campaign to discredit its detained leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. In a statement signed by [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":177153,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,29,28,14,2660],"tags":[7443,199,254,5186],"class_list":["post-177154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-homepage-english","category-policy","category-to-homepage","tag-finland","tag-ipob","tag-nigeria","tag-simon-ekpa"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>IPOB Responds to Simon Ekpa&#039;s Conviction in Finland - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has distanced itself from the recent conviction of Simon Ekpa in Finland, stressi ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"IPOB Responds to Simon Ekpa&#039;s Conviction in Finland\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has distanced itself from the recent conviction of Simon Ekpa in Finland, stressi ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-01T17:26:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-01T18:36:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/09\/sm_1756739340.239288.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1728\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1036\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"IPOB Responds to Simon Ekpa&#8217;s Conviction in Finland\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-01T17:26:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-01T18:36:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland\"},\"wordCount\":636,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/09\/sm_1756739340.239288.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Finland\",\"IPOB\",\"Nigeria\",\"Simon Ekpa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"homepage-english\",\"Policy\",\"to-homepage\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland\",\"name\":\"IPOB Responds to Simon Ekpa's Conviction in Finland - Nigeria\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/09\/sm_1756739340.239288.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-01T17:26:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-01T18:36:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has distanced itself from the recent conviction of Simon Ekpa in Finland, stressi ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/09\/sm_1756739340.239288.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/09\/sm_1756739340.239288.jpg\",\"width\":1728,\"height\":1036,\"caption\":\"IPOB Responds to Simon Ekpa's Conviction in Finland\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"IPOB Responds to Simon Ekpa&#8217;s Conviction in Finland\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/\",\"name\":\"Africa Press | Nigeria | Homepage\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/author\/cfeditoren\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"IPOB Responds to Simon Ekpa's Conviction in Finland - Nigeria","description":"The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has distanced itself from the recent conviction of Simon Ekpa in Finland, stressi ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"IPOB Responds to Simon Ekpa's Conviction in Finland","og_description":"The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has distanced itself from the recent conviction of Simon Ekpa in Finland, stressi ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland","og_site_name":"Nigeria","article_published_time":"2025-09-01T17:26:06+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-09-01T18:36:21+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1728,"height":1036,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/09\/sm_1756739340.239288.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"IPOB Responds to Simon Ekpa&#8217;s Conviction in Finland","datePublished":"2025-09-01T17:26:06+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-01T18:36:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland"},"wordCount":636,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/09\/sm_1756739340.239288.jpg","keywords":["Finland","IPOB","Nigeria","Simon Ekpa"],"articleSection":["all news","head lines","homepage-english","Policy","to-homepage"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland","name":"IPOB Responds to Simon Ekpa's Conviction in Finland - Nigeria","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/09\/sm_1756739340.239288.jpg","datePublished":"2025-09-01T17:26:06+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-01T18:36:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has distanced itself from the recent conviction of Simon Ekpa in Finland, stressi ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/09\/sm_1756739340.239288.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/09\/sm_1756739340.239288.jpg","width":1728,"height":1036,"caption":"IPOB Responds to Simon Ekpa's Conviction in Finland"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ipob-responds-to-simon-ekpas-conviction-in-finland#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"IPOB Responds to Simon Ekpa&#8217;s Conviction in Finland"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/","name":"Africa Press | Nigeria | Homepage","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/author\/cfeditoren"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177154\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/177153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=177154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=177154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}