The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), on Monday, distanced itself from the recent conviction of Simon Ekpa in Finland, stressing that his activities have no affiliation with the group.

The group accused the Nigerian government of launching a smear campaign to discredit its detained leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

In a statement by its spokesperson, Comrade Emma Powerful, IPOB described the reported attempt to link Ekpa to its movement as “a brazen fraud against truth and justice.”

According to the group, Ekpa admitted in court that he was “merely a content creator,” had disowned IPOB, and even boasted of working to destroy it.

Powerful said: “The world must know that the question of Simon Ekpa’s non-membership in IPOB is already judicially settled in Finland.

“IPOB under oath in a Finnish court testified that Simon Ekpa has never held any position in IPOB or ESN. Ekpa himself under oath described himself merely as a ‘content creator,’ admitted he disowned IPOB, and boasted that he would destroy IPOB,” the statement said.

IPOB further alleged that Ekpa went on to create parallel structures, such as the “Biafra Government in Exile,” the “Biafra Liberation Army (BLA),” and the “Biafra Defence Force (BDF),” all of which the group rejected.

It insisted that any attempt to associate Ekpa’s conviction with IPOB amounted to “deliberate misinformation, a calculated lie, knowingly repeated to deceive.”

The group alleged that the Federal Government was deliberately using Ekpa’s conviction as a diversionary tactic to influence ongoing judicial proceedings against Kanu.

He added, “The Nigerian state is orchestrating this smear campaign as a diversionary tactic, timed precisely to contaminate the upcoming ruling on Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s no-case submission.

“Why the unexplained delay in delivering judgment when the Federal Government has failed to establish even a prima facie case? The answer is obvious: they are buying time to inject irrelevant and extraneous narratives, such as Ekpa’s conviction, in a bid to corrupt judicial reasoning.

“The Finnish court exonerated IPOB of any link to Simon Ekpa. We demand that clarity be issued to Nigeria to stop this malicious misuse. You have both condemned Nigeria’s extraordinary rendition of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from Kenya. If you are true to your principles, you must also condemn this latest charade, an attempt to derail a fair trial by importing lies.”

Appealing to foreign governments and institutions, including the EU, Finland, the US, the UK, and the United Nations, IPOB urged international intervention, warning that Nigeria risked further damage to its image.

It cautioned Justice Omotosho and the Nigerian judiciary that “the eyes of the world are upon you,” insisting that only a judgment “grounded in law and fact” would be acceptable.