The elders and leaders of the South-East have said that the arrest of Simon Ekpa, the self-proclaimed Prime Minister of Biafra in Exile in Finland, will not solve the insecurity plaguing the region.

They believe that there will be no improvement in the situation of the South East until Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), is released.

The Igbo leaders are of the opinion that extraditing Ekpa back to Nigeria and prosecuting him for all the killings he orchestrated will help resolve the crises in the South-East.

After Ekpa’s arrest, many individuals expressed their joy and blamed him for the insecurity in the South-East.

During the burial of Senator Ifeanyi Ubah in Nnewi, the Catholic Bishop of Nnewi Diocese, Rt. Rev. Jonas Benson Okoye, described Ekpa as a rascal.

He questioned Ekpa’s motives for disrupting other states while his home state, Ebonyi State, does not adhere to the sit-at-home order on Mondays, yet he enforces compliance in other parts of Igbo land and deals mercilessly with residents who do not obey.

The bishop urged the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and other senators present to strongly advocate before the presidency.

He stated: “These people say that they want Biafra Republic and I wonder why they kill and kidnap their brothers and sisters in the name of the same Biafra.

“You undertake gorilla warfare, destroy the economy of Igboland. For those in government, I want you all to sustain what is happening in Finland, we like it.

“I want to plead with all the senators here that our governor has suffered and has been under pressure to ensure that lives and property of the people are secured.”

Responding to this, Nze Bartholomew Akaolisa, explained that Nnamdi Kanu established the Eastern Security Network (ESN) to protect Igbo residents from killer Fulani herdsmen, “but this evil-minded man known as Simon Ekpa, brought unknown gunmen and we have not known his mission.”

Akaolisa added, “Simon Ekpa should be brought to Nigeria and paraded in all the major towns in the South East so people can know the man who has been causing mayhem for many years. After parading him, he should be prosecuted and made to face the full weight of the law.”