The sit-at-home controversy in the southeast of Nigeria has taken a new twist, with conflicting statements from Nnamdi Kanu’s Special Counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, and the self-styled Prime Minister of Biafra, Simon Ekpa.
On Friday, Ejimakor addressed a press conference where he displayed a handwritten letter from Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), officially ending all sit-at-home orders in the region. However, Simon Ekpa, another prominent figure in IPOB, denied that the letter came from Kanu and dismissed it as “fake” and “from the pit of hell.” Ekpa stated that the order to end sit-at-home can only come from Kanu himself and not from the Department of State Services (DSS), who are currently holding him in detention.
In response to the conflicting statements, Nnamdi Kanu’s younger brother, Prince Emma Kanu, confirmed that the letter was indeed written by his brother. He stated that he visited Nnamdi Kanu in DSS detention last week, and the IPOB leader reiterated several times that he is not interested in causing harm to people but in the freedom of his people. Emma Kanu asserted that the letter displayed by Ejimakor is genuinely written by Nnamdi Kanu.
The sit-at-home order has been a contentious issue in the southeast, and this recent development adds to the complexity of the situation. The conflicting statements reflect the internal divisions within the IPOB leadership and raise questions about who holds the authority to issue orders on behalf of the group.
“It is not only a joke but an insult taking too far that the leader of the Indigenous People Of Biafra is being misrepresented in this way.
“As the Prime Minister of Biafra under the leadership of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, i call on all Biafrans to disregard the fake letter coming from DSS. We can’t take any order from the Islamic DSS and that is final.
“Mazi Nnamdi Kanu must be released and he must address Biafrans from Finland.
“That is the condition of the Prime Minister of Biafra and the Biafra Republic Government In Exile”.
