‘Peter Obi, Now IPOB Spokesman’ — Simon Ekpa Fires Back Over Sit-at-home Comment

Simon Ekpa, a self-proclaimed disciple of jailed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu, has responded to Peter Obi’s statement on the sit-at-home command in the southeast.

The banned separatist group organized a sit-in to demand Kanu’s release from the Department of Security Service (DSS) custody.

From July 3 to 10, Ekpa proclaimed a total lockdown in the southeast geographic zone, urging members of the criminal organization to disrupt economic activities and prevent people from going about their everyday lives.

In a statement on Thursday, Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the last elections, described the sit-at-home directive as the handiwork of a criminal enterprise, noting that IPOB has “publicly denied issuing such directive.”

“Also disturbing is the continued disruption of business and social activities in the South-East region over the Sit-at-Home directive purported to be coming from the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, when the body has publicly denied issuing such directive,” Obi had said.

“What is going on in the southeast, therefore, is essentially a criminal activity that must be nipped in the bud, with all hands being on deck, security agencies, and the people alike.”

In a curt tweet in response to Obi’s statement, Ekpa stated that the former governor of Anambra has now become the separatist group’s spokesperson.

IPOB was classified as the 10th deadliest terror group in the world in the 2023 global terrorism index (GTI) ranking, which was announced in March 2023, with 40 attacks and 57 deaths in 2022.