Ohanaeze places $50,000 bounty on Ipob's acting leader Simon Ekpa for demanding sit-at-home

OHANAEZE Ndigbo has placed a bounty of $50,000 on Simon Ekpa the self-acclaimed acting leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) who has taken over the running of the organisation following the incarceration of Nnamdi Kanu.

On July 10 2021, Mr Ekpa was named as the new head of Radio Biafra with a mandate to produce the daily broadcasts with call for the creation of an independent nation of Biafra. Since then, he has stepped up calls for Ndigbo to observe sit-at-home orders across the southeast on Mondays, leading to a clash with Ohanaeze.

Mr Ekpa, who holds a PhD degree in law, is a human rights activist and a legal researcher who hails from Ngbo in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, where he holds a chieftaincy title. However, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has refused to recognise him, urging the people of the southeast to ignore what they call a baseless and senseless sit-at-home order.

Over the weekend, Mr Ekpa called for a sit-at-home protest on Monday and Tuesday across the southeast geo-political zone. However, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, the secretary-general of Ohanaeze, declared Mr Ekpa the number one enemy of the Igbo nation.

Ohanaeze urged the five southeast governors to declare Monday and Tuesday public holidays to allow people across the zone to get their permanent voters cards (PVCs). He urged the southeast governors to emulate the wisdom of the Abia State government in declaring holidays, so everyone could meet the January 29 deadline.

Mazi Isiguzoro added: “Ndigbo has placed a bounty reward of $50,000 for anyone who has useful information on how Simon Ekpa will be apprehended for his extradition and prosecution in Nigeria, to answer the law of land over his criminalities, incitement of violent killings and burning of public properties in the name of self-determination. Igbos residents in Finland should also report Ekpa to Interpol to aid his arrest.

“Ndigbo should know that Simon Ekpa will never return to the southeast again in the future and Igbo residents in Finland who had earlier disowned his actions and activities should aid the Nigerian government and Interpol to arrest Simon Ekpa. This is needed to stabilise the southeast and rescue the zone from the nefarious activities of his gang members masquerading as Biafra agitators, who are interested in killing people and burning public buildings.

“The task to preserve and rescue the southeast should begin with the help of all Igbos in the diaspora and at home, to assist in the arrest of the worsening security challenges, the dwindling economic and social activities caused by Ekpa’s rantings and the illegal sit-at-home. Ndigbo has declared Simon Ifeanyi Njoku Ekpa on this day 23rd of January 2023 as the number one adversary and enemy of Ndigbo, who Ndigbo has caught sight of in the last 200 years."