Christopher Musa, the chief of defence staff (CDS), says Simon Ekpa, a self-acclaimed disciple of Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), must be arrested and prosecuted.

Musa spoke on Wednesday during a Channels Television special broadcast to mark Nigeria’s 2024 Democracy Day.

Ekpa is based in Finland and has continued to issue the sit-at-home order in IPOB’s and Kanu’s names.

Musa accused the government of Finland of shielding Simon Ekpa, a self-proclaimed prime minister of the IPOB.

In February 2023,  Helsingin Sanomat (HS), a newspaper in Finland, reported that Ekpa was arrested by police at his residence located in Lahti but was released after hours of questioning.

In December 2021, TheCable profiled Ekpa as someone who uses disinformation to fight for the secession of the south-east from Nigeria.

In September 2021, the Biafra agitator denounced Nigeria and vowed to return the medal he won for the country at the 2003 African Junior Athletics Championships.

Musa called on the federal government to take decisive action, including exploring diplomatic options to curb the menace of the factional leader of the IPOB.

“We have repeatedly complained about the issue of Simon Ekpa. He is in Finland, and the Finnish government is giving him all the support, and he is doing what he is doing,” the CDS said.

“The comments he is making mean people are being killed and nothing is being done. This is democracy.

“If the European Union is supporting democracy and this is happening and they are not taking action, then they don’t mean well for Nigeria.

“We have said that in clear terms. We need to diplomatically find means of getting him out of whatever it is that he is doing. He must be arrested, and he must be prosecuted.

“Look at it from the other way, assuming he is in Nigeria, he is doing that to the Finnish government. Do you think the European Union will allow that to happen? They definitely will not.”

[TheCable]