Ijaw people not among Biafra, IYC warns Simon Ekpa

The IYC noted that in a video posted on X, Simon Ekpa tried to establish Ijaw territories as part of his “imaginary Biafra state”.

By Jeffrey Agbo

The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, a body of young people of Ijaw origin, has warned the self-styled Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa, to steer clear of the Niger Delta, noting that the Ijaw people are not part of Biafra.

The IYC stated this in a press release on Friday by its national spokesman, Binebai Princewill.

This followed a video posted on X (formerly Twitter) where Mr Ekpa claimed that the Ijaw people were part of Biafra.

In the statement, the group said the Ijaw people would not tolerate any other reckless comment about their people and territories belonging to Biafra.

“The attention of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide has been drawn to a strange video by one Simon Ekpa, who is from the eastern part of Nigeria, now masquerading as the leader of Biafra in exile,” the statement said.

READ ALSO:

Simon Ekpa proclaims self undisputed successor of Nnamdi Kanu

“In the said video posted on X, he tried to establish Ijaw territories as part of his imaginary Biafra state.

“In the said video, Ekpa expressed the point that Nigerian soldiers attacked his Biafra people and Biafra republic. He was simply referring to the Okuama attack in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State on March 14, 2024 wherein 17 soldiers were killed and the subsequent onslaught carried out by the military on Igbomotoru and Peremabiri, Ijaw communities in Bayelsa State.”

It further stated that “the attack on the soldiers had been condemned and it remained condemned” just as the IYC had also “charged the military to go after only the criminals and not the killing of innocent people which we have also condemned in Igbomotoro and Peremabiri.”

“We have our own struggles, and the Indigenous People of Biafra also have their own separate struggle. The Ijaws are not part of their Biafra struggle and ideology,” the statement added.