Simon Ekpa declares himself Biafran prime minister
Simon Ekpa declares himself Biafran prime minister: A self-proclaimed disciple of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Simon Ekpa,
has written to the United Nations (UN) to declare himself as the Prime Minister of the Biafra Republic
Government in Exile (BRGIE). In his letter, dated April 13, 2023, Ekpa appealed to the global community to recognize the BRGIE as the legitimate government of the Biafran people and urged the UN to pressure the Nigerian government to release Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of IPOB, and other “Biafrans” who are being held
captive in Nigerian prisons.
Ekpa established the BRGIE to undertake the political and administrative governance of the “Biafra nation”
from outside Biafra territory. According to him, the government in exile will engage in diplomatic relations, arrangements, agreements, negotiations, and pacts with other nations and interest organizations of the world
on behalf of the Biafra people.
Simon Ekpa declares himself Biafran prime minister: the youths
Ekpa claimed that Biafran youths were extrajudicially killed in various parts of the country, and that
terrorists arrested during the President Goodluck Jonathan administration have been released and
“rewarded with job positions in the Nigeria military,” while innocent Igbo youths are being rounded up,
tagged terrorists, jailed or killed without trial. He alleged that the recently concluded general elections
in Nigeria were skewed by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to foist a Muslim-Muslim ticket
on Nigerians without creating a level playing field for all citizens.
Furthermore, Ekpa appealed to the UN to conduct a peaceful referendum to enable a bloodless exit
of Biafra from Nigeria. He claimed that Kanu, who was unlawfully extradited from Kenya to Nigeria in 2021,
has been accused of treason by the Nigerian government, and has been in the custody of the Department
of State Services (DSS) since his repatriation. Different courts have discharged the case, with the UN working
group on arbitrary detention requesting his freedom within six months. The six-month ultimatum expired in February 2023, yet the government of Nigeria has refused to release him.
the minister
Ekpa listed the other ministers and office holders in his government and urged the UN to accord them
diplomatic privileges as due to any government official of their respective level. The Biafra people,
through their government in exile, are seeking support from all nations of the world to assist them
in exiting Nigeria peacefully.
Ekpa’s letter to the UN is a bold move towards the actualization of the Biafra Republic. It remains to
be seen whether his appeal to the UN will yield any positive results or if it will be rejected like previous
attempts by other Biafra activists. The Nigerian government, on its part, has continued to maintain that the country’s unity is non-negotiable and has deployed security forces to crack down on separatist agitations.