Real reason Presidency, Tinubu are yet to react to Simon Ekpa’s arrest

Hours after the arrest of Simon Ekpa, the self-proclaimed Biafra Prime Minister, in Finland, President Bola Tinubu has yet to issue an official response.

Similarly, neither the presidency nor any of the President’s aides have commented on the arrest.

Gistreel recalls that Ekpa, along with four others, was detained by a Finnish district court in Lahti on probable cause for public incitement to commit crimes with terrorist intent in Nigeria.

Authorities accuse Ekpa of using social media to disseminate separatist propaganda associated with the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which advocates for the secession of southeastern Nigeria. These activities reportedly date back to August 2021.

Additionally, Finnish authorities have investigated Ekpa in the past for alleged financial crimes, including fundraising through suspicious means.

Despite the widespread reaction to the arrest on traditional and social media, the presidency remains silent.

According to Vanguard, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, stated that the National Security Adviser (NSA) or the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice would be the appropriate officials to address the matter.

Similarly, Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, noted that he is unaware of President Tinubu’s position and cannot speculate. He added that the President, currently abroad on official duties, has not been fully briefed to take a stance on the issue.

Bwala said: “You know that the role of a spokesman is to speak the mind of your principal, and you cannot preempt the principal until you hear so. For example, this event took place in Finland, so the natural thing is that probably the Embassy in Finland will brief the Foreign Affairs Office, then the Foreign Affairs Office will probably brief the National Security Adviser or the President directly, and then the President will take a position which will then give us the insight into his position on the matter, and we’ll be able to respond to the media.

“At the moment, the President is out of the country and probably must be on his way, and then there is no official statement from the Foreign Affairs Ministry. So, it will amount to, I don’t want to say gaslighting. It will amount to irresponsibility for a spokesman to take a position that is not the position of his principal.

“So, maybe a little more time will help us to be able to get what the mind of the President is regarding the matter. Usually, in a situation like that, it is not even the President that immediately acts in a nation of rule of law. In a nation of rule of law, the chief law officer of the country is the attorney general.

“So, probably the Attorney-General now will be coordinating with the Foreign Affairs Ministry if there is any government decision in respect of the matter. But I think that at this moment, in my view, I might be wrong, the procedure is that the embassy, which is our foreign office there, will brief probably the Foreign Affairs Minister.

“I think the Foreign Affairs Minister also must have travelled with the President, so it is too early to give a presidential opinion on the matter.”