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Imo State governor, Hope Uzodimma, has urged the federal government and the Nigerian Military to extradite Finland-based factional leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Simon Ekpa.
The governor made the call while reiterating the need to restore peace and put an end to insurgency in the South-East amidst disruptions caused by the illegal Monday sit-at-home order.
Uzodimma made his position known when he received the new General Officer Commanding (GOC) 82 Division, Enugu, Major General Hassan Dada, at the Government House in Owerri, the Imo State capital, on Friday, July 28, 2023.
The GOC was on a familiarisation visit to the governor, who used the opportunity to renew the call for Ekpa's extradition and prosecution.
“What is topmost in our cases is this popular sit-at-home order. There’s one man called Simon Ekpa somewhere in Finland.”
“It is our hope that the security agencies, particularly the military, working with the Federal Government, will be able to either bring Simon Ekpa back to Nigeria to also sit at home with us or be made to face the wrath of the law,” Uzodimma said.
This came barely 48 hours after the Senate condemned the controversial sit-at-home order under the enforcement of some IPOB elements loyal to Ekpa, appealing to the federal government to liaise with the Finnish government to bring the separatist back to Nigeria.
Meanwhile, Uzodimma also lamented the negative effect of the forced sit-at-home orders while promising the new GOC and his team his support and that of the people of Imo State.