By Mark Lenu
Some Igbo traders who buy goods wholesale from the South-east and sell to both retailers and end users in Rivers State say the arrest of Simon Ekpa will bring an end to the vicious sit-at-home nightmare imposed on the South-eastern part of the country by the IPOB separatist group.
Ekpa who declared himself, the prime minister of the Biafra Republic had been confirmed arrested by the Finlan authority over offenses bordering on terrorism.
In 2023, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu announced an end to the sit at home order in the Igbo speaking region of the country but was countered by the Finland based Ekpa who insisted that the sit at home must continue until Kanu is released unconditionally and the Republic of Biafra is declared by the Nigerian government.
The sit at home order was imposed by the Biafran secessionist group to force the Nigerian government to recognise the independence of Biafra.
The sit-at-home order has killed, maimed, and destroyed countless lives and properties in the South-east. The order states that nobody should be found outside on Monday, meaning all commercial activities should be shutdown every Monday in the South-east.
Ekpa had in several social media broadcasts claimed that he has enough army of trained Biafrans in the South-east who are ready to carry out his orders, threatening that until the Nigerian government recognizes the sovereign state of Biafra, the South-eastern part of the country will never have peace.
The traders who craved anonymity because they still buy their goods from the South-east and sell in Rivers State welcomed the arrest of Ekpa, hoping that his arrest would weaken the sit-at-home order which they described as a nightmare.
In their separate interviews with our correspondent, the traders said: “The sit at home order affected our businesses a lot. It made us not to buy or transport our goods from the South-east on Monday.
“After the arrest of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, Simon Ekpa who claimed to be fighting for the freedom of the Igbos fuelled the sit-at-home order in the South-east not minding the pain such cruel order was inflicting on us.
“We heard that he has been arrested in Finland and we hope that such arrest would help ease the effect of the sit-at-home order imposed on the South-east.”
The Nigerian government has said it would apply for the extradition of Simon Ekpa in order for him to face trial in Nigeria. The Director of Defence Information, Brig Gen Tukur Gusau, said it on Thursday,
