Finland-based Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa has rejected instructions from Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to end the ongoing sit-at-home protests in southeastern Nigeria.
Ekpa spoke during a special episode of 90MinutesAfrica hosted by Rudolf Okonkwo on Tuesday.
The sit-at-home, enforced every Monday, has continued to disrupt daily life in the region, despite Kanu’s previous directive urging a stop to the exercise.
In July, Kanu, through his lawyer, called for a halt, disassociating himself from anyone enforcing it.
However, Ekpa has dismissed these calls, stating he will only consider them under specific conditions.
According to Ekpa, Kanu must be released and meet him in Finland for a direct discussion before he will comply.
Until then, he insisted the sit-at-home remains a critical tool in the fight for Biafra’s independence, claiming it demonstrates the people’s rejection of Nigerian authority.
Ekpa defended the strategy despite its impact on businesses and education, arguing that short-term sacrifices are necessary for long-term gains.
He maintained that the exercise is part of a broader approach, including political, diplomatic, and self-defense efforts, aimed at achieving Biafra’s freedom.
He said:
“I won’t listen to Nnamdi Kanu’s instructions to end sit-at-home. I will only listen to him not just when he becomes a freeman, but he has to come to Finland to tell me face to face.
“Nnamdi Kanu “has to come to Finland and sit one-on-one with me.
“That is my condition.
“Even if they bring him out today and he stays in Nigeria and says Simon Ekpa, stop, I’m not going to stop.
“This sit-at-home has succeeded in crushing the economy of Nigeria, delegitimizing the Nigerian government in Biafra land and demonstrating that the people don’t listen to Nigerian authorities anymore.
“We are using four different mechanisms to pursue the freedom of Biafra.
“The political, diplomatic, self-defense or arms struggle and the civil disobedience approach.
“These are the four approaches we are using to delegitimize and fight Nigeria, and they are working perfectly.
“The traders have a better business ahead of them, and the students will have better schools to attend in the future.
“What we are doing is a price they have to be paid for freedom. Freedom does not come easy. We are going to bring an alternative that will work for them. So they have to pay the price of not going to school if they have to.”
