With the arrest of international terrorist and Leader of Autopilots (Ekpa Killer Squad), Simon Ekpa, a.k.a. Ifeanyi Njoku by Interpol at the international airport in Helsinki, Finland on Thursday, Ndigbo should come out en mass without fear and cast their votes for the Labour Party, LP, Presidential candidate, Peter Obi  to emerge victorious in tomorrow’s election.

The arrest of Ekpa by Interpol at the international airport in Helsinki, Finland, Thursday morning as he was about fleeing to Israel has brought great relief to Nigerians, especially citizens and residents of the South East region, according to findings by The Advocate.

From his base in Lahti, Finland, Ekpa had been directing his band of terrorists variously known as Ekpa Killer Squad or Autopilots on an orgy of bloodletting, violence and even cannibalism, all in a bid to create a reign of terror in the region and paralyze the economy of the South East region.

Eventually, the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, 14th February, 2023 summoned the Finnish Ambassador, Leena Pylvanainen over misinformation, disinformation, hate speech and inciting comments by Simon Ekpa, which many fear could derail the peaceful conduct of 2023 general elections.

At the meeting with the Finnish Ambassador to Nigeria, Leena Pylvanainen, Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama expressed displeasure over the orders given by Simon Ekpa to his teeming followers who consequently embarked on killings, maiming, burning and other destructive activities.

This was followed up a visit to the ambassador by a group of eminent Nigerians, cutting across the six geo-political zones under the aegis of Concerned Pan Nigerian Group.

The group, which was led by Ochendo Simon Okeke, former Chairman, Nigerian Police Service Commission also included Afenifere Leader, Ayo Adebanjo, Niger Delta Leader, Edwin Clark, Dr Bitrus Pogu, Middle Belt Leader among others, reiterated the dire need for the Finnish Government to arrest Ekpa soonest, before he does more harm.

Before then, it would be recalled that thousands of Nigerians had signed an online petition demanding Ekpa’s arrest.

In addition, some patriotic Igbo persons had sponsored a Finnish journalist, Pasi who was in Enugu early last week to interview the family members of those killed by Ekpa’s Killer Squad while enforcing his Sit-at-Home order which Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the incarcerated leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB and the entire IPOB leadership had cancelled.

These efforts played a major role in ensuring Ekpa’s arrest by the Finnish Government, which had demanded for concrete evidence of the atrocities he is allegedly committing in his home country.

Currently, Nigerian security agencies are hunting down armed gangs of the Ekpa Killer Squad operating in various states of the South East with scores of them already killed while others have been apprehended.

Many concerned Nigerians who reacted to Ekpa’s arrest on Thursday, however, enjoined Ndigbo to come out and vote massively for the Labour Party, LP Presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi during Saturday’s election regardless of attempts by the Ekpa Killer Squad to scare them from coming to vote through violent enforcement of a 5 day Sit-at-home targeted at reducing voters turnout in the region to ensure Obi did not receive massive votes from his teaming supporters in his South East region.

Ndigbo

In his reaction to the new development, Mazi Ikechukwu Bismarck Oji, MNSE, National Stakeholder of the apex Igbo sociocultural organization, Ohanaeze, urged Ndigbo to brace up and not allow few criminals allegedly hired by a presidential candidate from the South West “to scare them off and debar them from being on the right side of history by voting massively for Peter Obi.”

Oji said: “Ndigbo, fear not! Just as it was in the case of the Israelites in the Bible, God is fighting for his people and our enemies shall be put to shame. Ekpa’s arrest attests to that. One man cannot be allowed to toy with the destiny of a nation because of his selfish interest and greed.

“Ndigbo are too courageous a race to be scared away by hoodlums who have allowed Ekpa to brainwash them into committing acts of terrorism and losing their lives in the process while he smiles to the bank. From latest investigations, Ekpa is worth at least $1m gotten through his Nigerian paymasters and gullible Igbos living in diaspora, who sponsor him on the erroneous belief that he is genuinely agitating for Biafra. Ekpa is truly an enemy of Ndigbo.”

Deputy National Youth Leader, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Mazi Jones, also reacting, called on Ndigbo to “lynch those he described as APC thugs disguising as Biafra agitators who may try to enforce any Sit at Home in the South East.

“I urge Ndigbo to come out en masse and vote for Peter Obi, the LP Presidential candidate.
Any APC thugs who tries to stop Ndigbo from participating in the election by enforcing their sit at home order should be lynched, to serve as a deterrent to others. Enough is Enough!” Jones said.ter