According to Barr. Christopher Chidera, a human rights attorney based in Abuja, the Finnish court found self-styled IPOB Prime Minister Simon Ekpa guilty without mentioning the Indigenous People of Biafra, or IPOB.
In an attempt to explain the ruling to some reporters in Abuja on Tuesday, the attorney claimed that Ekpa was found guilty of incitement, tax fraud, and professional misconduct by the Päijät-Häme District Court in Finland, none of which he claimed had anything to do with IPOB.
He expressed grave concerns about what he described as “malicious propaganda” being spread against Nnamdi Kanu and what he described as an IPOB campaign that was lawful.
The attorney specifically referred to Monday’s malicious article as a “hatchet piece” that was posted on iBrandTV and written by Marshal Bassey under the deceptive headline “Simon Ekpa’s Conviction: How the Igbo Biafra Dream Died a Natural Death.”
“The fabrication fell under the weight of verifiable judicial records,” he said. It is propaganda intended to weaken the Biafran people’s spirit of resiliency, but instead it reveals the intellectual hollowness of its creator and backers.
“Simon Ekpa personally was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment on charges of participation in a terrorist organization, incitement, tax fraud, and professional misconduct,” he explained, adding that the Finnish court’s ruling did not find IPOB wanting.
“The Court never mentioned IPOB in its ruling,” he noted. Ekpa never belonged to the movement and had no official position, according to IPOB’s sworn testimony.
Under oath, Ekpa acknowledged that he was merely a “content creator” and that he had long disowned IPOB. Finland had the ideal opportunity to indict IPOB if it were guilty. Since there is no evidence against IPOB, the Court decided not to do so. “This silence is exoneration in and of itself,” he said.
He scowled at the article’s “pathetic attempt to bury the Biafra dream through falsehood,” calling it a “reckless attempt.”
He claimed that the article’s author “deliberately ignored the legal reality that IPOB is a legitimate movement that is registered in Finland and operates openly within the bounds of international law.”
“His article is nothing more than a paid smear campaign intended to damage IPOB’s reputation and clean up Nigeria’s image.
“IPOB is not and has never been a terrorist organization,” he reiterated. IPOB is a worldwide movement for self-determination that is based on justice and the law.
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