Lead counsel to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Ifeanyi Ejiofor, says the conviction of Simon Ekpa by a District Court in Finland did not come as a surprise, describing it as the collapse of a “fraudulent empire built on lies, violence and exploitation.”
In a statement on Monday, Ejiofor argued that Ekpa’s actions had long betrayed a treacherous agenda to usurp IPOB’s Directorate of State, sow confusion, and reduce the South-East to “a theatre of violence, bloodshed and blackmail.” He accused Ekpa of misleading followers with false declarations and financing unrest in Igboland under the guise of self-determination.
Ejiofor said the deception tarnished IPOB’s image as a peaceful global movement, noting that those arrested for violent acts often claimed to be IPOB members, giving security forces grounds to clamp down on innocent activists. He recalled that while IPOB’s leadership consistently distanced itself from Ekpa, many elites and sympathisers “remained silent out of fear or complicity.”
According to him, Ekpa exploited vulnerable supporters with promises of warships, jets, and imminent independence that never materialised, while collecting financial contributions from gullible followers abroad. “The irony remains painful: he lived in comfort overseas while our youths died at home,” Ejiofor stated.
He said the conviction demonstrates that “no fraudulent appeal to self-determination can shield a criminal enterprise built on fraud and bloodshed.” Ejiofor urged the public to reject violence and deception as tools of agitation, insisting that “no legitimate struggle can be built on deceit and violence against one’s own people.”
He concluded: “Ekpa may be convicted today, but the scars of his deceit will take years to cleanse from Ala-Igbo. The future of our land must never again be left in the hands of impostors who exploit the pain of their people for personal gain.”
