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Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation has urged the Federal Government to activate its diplomatic ties with Finland to get Simon Ekpa, a Finland-based Biafra agitator.
On Tuesday, November 21, 2023, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, while appearing before the House of Representatives accused Ekpa of sabotaging the activities of security agents in the South-East.
Musa urged the Federal Government to liaise with the Finnish Government over Ekpa’s activities in Nigeria.
Reacting to this in an interview with ThePunch, the Secretary General of Ohanaeze, Ambassador Okey Emuchay, expressed Ohanaeze's support for the proposition by the Chief of Defence Staff.
Emuchay said the leadership of the Igbo socio-cultural organisation had already discussed the suggestion, adding that everybody in the South-East is concerned about Ekpa’s activities in the region.
“This morning, the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide and myself, we have discussed it, and then as you know, everybody, all the stakeholders in the South East, the governors, President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the leadership of Ohanaeze, everybody is concerned about the security situation in the South-East,” the Ohanaeze leader said.
“So, the statement yesterday at the hearing of the House of Representatives tells the story as to what we have been saying all along. It is a matter for the Federal Government of Nigeria to handle, as Ohanaeze or the states in the South-East are subordinate to the Federal Government.”
Corroborating Musa’s submission, Emuchay advised the Federal Government to activate its diplomatic ties with the Government of Finland to address the activities of Ekpa and his disciples in the South-East.
“The Federal Government has a diplomatic relationship with Finland, they (Finland) have an embassy in Abuja, and that diplomatic channel is what Ohanaeze is asking to be activated. Ohanaeze is very pleased that the Chief of Defence Staff made a public pronouncement on the matter of Simon Ekpa and we are happy with it,” he said.
Speaking about Nnamdi Kanu, Emuchay said Ohanaeze will not stop calling for his release, adding that the organisation and the South-East governors are on the same page on the matter.
“Ohanaeze and the South-East governors are on the same page on the matter of Nnamdi Kanu. I am not in a position now to say more but Ohanaeze with the South-East governors, the stakeholders in the South-East, the leadership of Ohanaeze, we are all on the same page on the release of Nnamdi Kanu,” the Ohanaeze leader maintained.