Simon Ekpa Is A Criminal Sponsored By Finland, Must Be Stopped - Akin Aluta


Category: Nigeria News

Social and human rights activist, Akin Okunowo, popularly known as Aluta chats with Charles Oluyori, Editor, ACKCITY News on current security situation of Nigeria, particularly on the activities of IPOB led by Simon Ekpa, among other issues.

See excerpt below…

Good afternoon Mr. Akin Okunowo. For those who may not know who you are, kindly give us a bit intro of your person.

My name is Akin Okunowo, popularly known as Aluta. I am an activist and fight against all manner of terrorist acts. I led the founding of what is called Anti-Cult in Nigeria tertiary institutions in 1997 at Olabisi Onabanjo University in Ago-Iwoye. I have represented students and various levels of leadership across the country when I was in university. 

I am a poet and playwright. I am the author of a book on the menace of campus cultism in Nigeria, titled "Beware of Cultism (The Gathering of Demons). The book was awarded The Most Outstanding Publication on the Menace of Campus Cultism in Nigeria.

READ: Singer Akin Aluta Releases "Lagos Don Change" For APC Campaign

You have recently been in front of a campaign to abolish the sit-at-home order by the IPOB. The sit-at-home campaign in the Southeast seemed to have finally been abolished, what is your take on this?

I want to note that criminals were making a lot of money through the enforcement of the sit-at-home order. The IPOB recuited armed criminals into its militant arms, that is, ESN, BLA, and Unknown Gunmen. They committed all.manner of criminal atrocities without check. For example, they killed to infuse fear into the mind of the public; robbed market and business people to compel them not to go to market on Mondays; kidnapped for ransome; they assasinated people who have contrary opinions; and committed all manner of abominable acts like beheading human beings and eating the flesh of their victims.

So, for a very long time, they have generated a lot of money and found save haven for them to escape being caught and prosecuted by the Nigeria government. 

And we must note as well that, during this particular point in history, the Nigeria government leadership was very dull and myopic. So, Nnamdi Kanu was able to capitalize on the weaknesses of the Buhari government to run narratives that were mere propaganda. 

Unfortunately, the people of the region were too silent for too long, not countering many of these false narratives. Nnamdi Kanu ended up picturing IPOB as if it were an organisation comprising of the entire people of the Southeast. Meanwhile, IPOB is not an organisation validated by the people of the South-East. It was just a group created by Nnamdi Kanu but explored the name BIAFRA to make it look like it was the entire Biafrans.

Before people realized the implication of this, the IPOB group had forcefully imposed itself on the people of the region. Any Ndigbo who goes against the view of IPOB is quickly tagged the enemy of the liberation of Biafra. Consequently, it makes people become more silent out of fear of being tagged a bad name and exposed to attack.

So, these criminals have enriched themselves and become so popular to the extent that they are being celebrated like heroes, both home and abroad. So, they are desperately looking for another avenue of making money. 

Their recent agenda before we rose against the sit-at-home was to attack the Nigeria oil exploration facilities to sabotage the economy and make more money than what they were making from sit-at-home.

These criminals are hell-bent on destroying the East to enrich themselves, except they are made to face the crimes they committed. Sparing them as if sit-at-home has ended is another error some people are making.

Simon Ekpa and other IPOB members are silent over the abolishment of their Sit-At-Home Order, following a report that the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu called for the abolishment of the sit-at-home order. In your opinion, do you think this is the last we will hear of IPOB Sit-At-Home Order, or we should be expecting more?

Like I said. Simon Ekpa and his criminal gang members are not silent, and this will not be the end of their terrorist acts. Besides, they already have means of raising funds to buy weapons, and they have countries selling those weapons for them.

Where do you expect them to keep all the weapons that Kanu and Simon Ekpa have acquired for the criminals carrying out the sit-at-home orders. Do you know the agreement between those suppliers of weapons and these criminals calling themselves Biafra agitators?

See, the weapons business is a serious international  business. So, a lot of external interest is at stake here. For example, Finland. How can a country be openly encouraging terrorism in Nigeria. How can a country that is part of UN give her citizen to a member of a proscribed organisation in a member state of the UN? An organisation that was proscribed by Nigeria for terrorism. And they allowed such member to be doing what even an Indigenous citizen of Finland can not dare to do.

They encouraged Simon Ekpa to use their country as excuse that he cannot be arrested by Nigeria. He organises fundraising inside Finland for buying weapons of war. From Finland, he smuggled the weapons to Nigeria for the IPOB militia arm to operate. And Finland thinks people are fool. You cannot call yourself my friend and take in my enemy into your house and allow my enemy to be using your house to attack me. No. Finland is not a friend of Nigeria. Finland is a coward. If you want to fight Nigeria, come straight and face us. Stop using Nigerians to kill Nigerians.

Note that the excuse that Simon Ekpa and his criminal gang members were using before was that they were fighting for the unconditional release of Nnamdi Kanu. Now that Kanu himself has declared, they should stop the sit-at-home and probably find other legal way of fighting for his freedom, Simon Ekpa will not agree. He will find other excuses. Except you don't understand that he was never fighting for Kanu from the outset, that is why you will think that his silence is an end to his terrorist acts. In fact, last week, he organised another fundraising for buying more weapons. So, will you tell me that kind of criminal has desist from his criminal act?

Take note of what will happen soon. He will soon label Nnamdi Kanu himself as a traitor or enemy of Biafra freedom. He will tell all the Ndigbos that listen to him to stop listening to Kanu. In fact, he will blackmail and discredit Kanu to usurp the leadership of IPOB totally from him.

He will soon counter all this so-called handwritten note and order to end sit-at-home. He will not accept any order from Kanu because he has planned tgat from the beginning and perfected it by self claiming to be the Prime Minister of Biafra as a country.

He needs to continue using the name of Nnamdi Kanu as excuse to commit all sort of atrocities. Kanu dissociating his name from Simon Ekpa's act will bring division between the two of them. Mark my word.

 Throught last week, he was raising funds to buy weapons for the ESN. And he has scheduled more fundraising exercise for this week. This shows that, they guy has more backing from Finland and others to destroy the South East.

But the truth is that, we are not relenting until he is repatriated back to Nigeria to face his crime

The MJTF days ago announced that many Boko Haram members are voluntarily surrendering themselves to the military, this is coming just days after a video surfaced on various social media platforms in which some suspected terrorists believed to be Boko Haram members were seen jubilating in Hausa language over their shooting down of a military aircraft conveying some military officers, killing all those onboard the aircraft. What is your take on this?

See, Nigeria is at war against the BH already. A lot of things happen here and there around the areas where this problem is much. Military kill terrorists and terrorists too kill military. Forming assumptions without facts can lead to a wrong understanding of what actually happened.

Unfortunately, some people are making a wrong narrative from the development. Instead of understanding that these and many more are part of the supreme price some Nigerians have paid to defend their fatherland, some people are making unfounded propaganda out of it.

What I see is that there is a need for the Nigeria government to step up its game. We can't be losing our soldiers just like that. They should stop rehabilitating these criminals when they are caught. They should be treated as criminals. 

When Mutalab was caught on the plane them with suicide bomb, was he rehabilitated and released by America? So, who are the enemies of Nigeria advising the government to be doing such? Unfortunately, som3 of these people become more daring knowing that at worst when they are caught they will pretend as if they have surrendered and be rehabilitated and funded with Nigeria money to live a life better than the Nigeria soldiers and those living in places they hav3 terrorised. This is madness.

We should know that presently, Nigeria is leading ECOWAS military intervention in Niger. So, why should we allow ourselves to be cajoled that some people are surrendering. We should treat them as captured terrorists.  

Otherwise, it will confirm the suspicion of the people criticising the government. They believe that since the military junta has declared breaking all ties with France, the BH could no longer find Niger conducive as safe heaven under the protection of France to terrorize Nigeria and Niger.

Niger accused France of aiding BH. And now, Nigeria is fighting the interest of France. Taking in these fake people surrendering because they will be caught in the war if they remain where they are doing their BH thing.

So, people are not fools. The government needs to be sensitive to ensure it stops making more errors because the lives of our soldiers are involved. 

Nigeria government should wipe out BH, not welcoming them. Whether they surrender or not.

Aside being an activist, you are also an entertainer. Recently you released a studio track. What is the title of the song and what prompted the release?

Yes, I'm a poet and playwright. Many of my poems are lyrical  like normal songs.

Yes, I just came up with a new one titled "Peace Anthem."

What prompted the song is a need to inspire Nigerians to unite against all manner of problems we are facing as a nation. Stop allowing ourselves to be divided through ethnic and religious lines. We should start seeing ourselves as brothers and join hands together to rebuild Nigeria. Let's go on with one Nigeria.

What word of advice do you have for the youths, as a youth who champions many causes channeled towards youths' development?

This is our tomorrow. Stop expecting that one messiah is going to come from nowhere to save you and rebuild Nigeria. We are the ones who will rebuild Nigeria. 

Let's stand up for our lives and unite together as brothers to rebuild this nation. Stop allowing yourselves to be used by politicians. You can do better than these politicians. 

We must take our destiny in our own hands. Stop allowing yourself to be used against your own people. Let's start making things work.


Follow Aluta:

Twitter @OurVoiceCountNG.

Instagram @OurNationNigeria.

Facebook @Akin Okunowo


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