Simon Ekpa, a controversial Biafran agitator, has claimed responsibility for the killing of four police operatives in Owerri, Imo State, South East Nigeria.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that gunmen attacked and killed four police operatives along the Onitsha-Owerri Expressway at about 6:30 p.m. on Monday.

Aside from the operatives, the hoodlums also shot dead a woman – a Point on Sale (PoS) machine operator – in the area.

Mr Ekpa, a Nigerian who is based in Finland, heads Autopilot, a faction of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

The Biafra agitator also founded Biafra Defence Forces and Biafra Liberation Army, which are armed militant wings of the Autopilot IPOB.

He has been linked to some deadly attacks in the region.

In a post on his X handle shortly after the attack, Mr Ekpa announced that members of his Biafra Defence Forces had killed the operatives in Owerri.

“The Biafra Defence Forces Owerri Command has recovered weapons from the terrorists after neutralising them in numbers,” he wrote on the microblogging platform at exactly 8:50 p.m. on Monday.

Mr Ekpa, a Nigerian-Finnish citizen, often refers to Nigerian security operatives as “terrorists.”

The Biafra agitator said he and his group are demanding the withdrawal of all Nigerian security forces from the South East and that they were committed to enforcing the demand.

“If you think you will continue to use force and terrorism tactics to force us to remain in the union, this will continue to be your faith in Biafraland,” Mr Ekpa stated, referring to the latest attack on the police.

The Biafra agitator often shares on his X handle details of attacks in Nigeria’s South East.

Like IPOB, which Nnamdi Kanu leads, Mr Ekpa is seeking the secession of the South East and some parts of the South South from Nigeria to form an independent state known as Biafra.

The agitators often refer to the South East and South South regions as “Biafraland.”

Mr Ekpa also attached a video clip to the X post.

The clip showed four rifles and some police case files displayed by some persons who claimed to have attacked and killed the operatives.

The clip, however, did not show the faces of the persons speaking in the background.

“Papa, it wasn’t easy. You know today is the beginning of sit-at-home (in the South East). People were asked to sit at home, and these people (police operatives) came out to extort people,” one person said in the Igbo language.

“These are Nigerian terrorists who were at their duty post despite our leader’s sit-at-home order. But they felt they work for the government and would not obey the order.

“They have now seen it happen today in Owerri, which is 29 July 2024,” he stated.

The armed men appeared to be making a report of their operation to Mr Ekpa, who had earlier declared a four-day sit-at-home in the South East.

Apparently addressing security operatives, one of the armed men added: “Our leader earlier told you, people, that any police or army operative in Biafraland, it is better you resign or we will use your head to work.”

Mr Ekpa, on 21 July, declared a four-day sit-at-home across the five states in the South East.

The Finland-based Nigerian, in a statement posted on his X handle, said the illegal order would be enforced in the region from 29 July to 2 August, excluding 1 August.

Several persons and the Nigerian government have called for Mr Ekpa’s repatriation to Nigeria to face charges over his role in the insecurity in the South East.

For instance, Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, on 21 July, asked some members of the House of Representatives to consider repatriating Mr Ekpa to Nigeria to face prosecution.

The Chief of Defence Staff, Christopher Musa, last June, accused the Finnish government and the European Union of blocking the repatriation of the Biafra agitator.

Last year, the Nigerian Senate asked the federal government to collaborate with the Finnish government to extradite Mr Ekpa for prosecution.

Finnish government speaks on Ekpa’s repatriation

In February 2023, Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had summoned The Finnish Ambassador to Nigeria, Leena Pylvanainen, over threat by Mr Ekpa to disrupt the country’s 2023 general elections.

Geoffrey Onyeama, the then Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, in a meeting with the Finnish ambassador, asked for the cooperation of the Finnish government to repatriate Mr Ekpa.

But Mrs Pylvanainen said although the Finnish government was concerned about the situation, there was a need to take Mr Ekpa’s rights into consideration given that he is a Finnish citizen.

“So, everything has to obviously be done according to Finnish legislation,” she stated.

In a reaction to latest incident, the Commissioner of Police in Imo State, Aboki Danjuma, “condemned the attack and gruesome murder” of his men and a civilian.

A statement issued in Owerri by the command’s spokesman, ASP Henry Okoye, and made available to NAN, accused the proscribed Indigenous People of  Biafra/Eastern Security Network of being the masterminds.

Okoye disclosed that the CP “has deployed the command’s Tactical Units with the available operational assets and intelligence to go all out in synergy with other security agencies and hunt down the hoodlums responsible for the attack.”

According to the statement, the operatives were ambushed while on a routine patrol at Irete on the Owerri-Onitsha expressway.

“They fought gallantly but, unfortunately, four paid the supreme price, while a civilian was fatally hit.

“On receipt of the unfortunate incident, the CP immediately mobilised to the scene for an on-the-spot assessment of the ugly incident,” Okoye added.

He also explained that the remains  of the deceased had been  evacuated and deposited at the mortuary, while the injured person was rushed to a nearby hospital “where he is currently responding to treatment.

“The CP expressed sadness over the unfortunate incident and vowed that the command will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the perpetrators are all arrested and brought to justice,” he further stated.

The statement described the tragic incident “as a painful reminder of the daily risks and sacrifices police operatives face in their unwavering commitment to public safety.

“CP Danjuma commiserates with the families of the deceased and prayed for the repose of their souls,” it added.

It quoted the state police chief to have called on the general public, particularly the residents of Ogbakwu, “who may have any information that will assist in apprehending the assailants to report the same to the nearest police station.

Okoye stated that the report could also be made available to the command via its emergency lines 08034773600 or 08098880197.

[Dailytrust]