By Chioma Iruke
For several years, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a secessionist movement seeking the establishment of a Biafran state carved out of Nigeria’s South-East, has actively sought to claim international support to apply pressure on Nigeria to concede to their requests. This movement, which was latent for decades after the Civil War (1967-70), has since become more vocal and present since 1999 – when Nigeria returned to democracy. Sadly, in an effort to show this support, some in the group have resorted to active disinformation, which has led to different challenges in checking.
A major source is Simon Ekpa, former radio director and self-acclaimed ‘Prime Minister’. His use of threats and propaganda have inevitably made him popular in the struggle. However, Ekpa, who is based in Finland, is familiar with spreading disinformation with the X (Twitter) platform, his major tool.
False and Misleading Claims of Foreign Support by the United States of America
In recent times Ekpa has claimed that the United States government, through its Department of Justice, has paid heed to the call by a group, the Biafra Republic Government In-Exile (BRGIE), as an entity advocating for Biafra independence. Ekpa claimed that this recognition was public and could be obtained from the site of the US Justice Department.
Ekpa aims to leverage this claim to depict substantial support from the US government, thereby increasing pressure on the Nigerian government to address Biafran demands. Such claims, if believed, could embolden separatist groups within Nigeria, leading to heightened security tensions as these groups might feel validated and supported by the international community. This perception of international backing could intensify their activities, potentially resulting in unrest. Moreover, this situation could strain diplomatic relations between Nigeria and the United States, as the Nigerian government might view this recognition as interference in its domestic affairs. The broader international community might also apply increased diplomatic pressure on Nigeria to engage in dialogue and negotiations with Biafran representatives, further complicating the political landscape.
Shortly after Ekpa’s announcement on the US Department of Justice, Ekpa would further make erroneous claims suggesting US support for Biafran Independence. Part of this strategy was announcing the advocacy of Jim Moran, a former US congressman who represented Virginia’s 8th congressional district from 1991 until 2015. This was again also reported by Nigerian media outlets.
Ekpa in his post failed to mention that Jim was contracted through his firm Moran Global Strategies as a lobbyist under a 10k per month contract that began June 15, 2024.
Moran Global Strategies is a public relations firm in the United States that specialises in government relations, strategic consulting, and advocacy, helping clients manage their public image and navigate policy issues effectively.
Ekpa’s growing influence is also reflected in the media, with prominent outlets like Vanguard, Daily Times and Daily Post reporting on his tweets and quoting him in their articles.
While there are general concerns about Ekpa’s increasing political influence among media outlets, one particular outlet, FactCheck News, raises significant concerns. Despite its name suggesting it functions as a fact-checking blog, FactCheck News operates more like a traditional news outlet. This distinction is crucial for understanding the nature and reliability of the information it provides, as the name might mislead readers into assuming its primary focus is on verifying facts, whereas it often disseminates news stories without the rigorous fact-checking implied by its name.
Verification
Using Whois, an open-source tool that provides domain information, we found that the site Fact-check News had been in existence since 2021 and was updated in 2023. Using the Wayback machine, we observed that the outlet only began actively reporting Ekpa’s propaganda in 2024 as regards BRGIE, and has often quoted him verbatim as an authoritative source as seen here, here and here.
It was also observed that all published reports about the issue were similar with little or no difference in wording and structure. Thus inferring that the sources were very similar.
Combing through the US Department of Justice’s site, nothing was found as relates to what was being propagated by Ekpa. The US Department of State website was further searched through to confirm whether there was any post on the issue, to no avail.
Neither the Department of State nor Justice had any posts on IPOB or BRGIE on their social media handles.
An FOI request to confirm the claim was sent on June 27, 2024.
A response from the Department of Justice through the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) on July 3, 2024, noted that there had been no record of BRGIE in their database.
Verdict: False
Ekpa and the Finish Government
Ekpa uploaded a misleading video of the Finnish Prime Minister, Petteri Orpo, responding to questions about him. In the video, Orpo was asked about his thoughts on Ekpa and his activism in Nigeria. Using maestra.ai, an AI that translates languages, we translated the interview and found that Orpo in no way tried to indulge or support Ekpa, he however noted that the situation was being investigated as he wanted to understand the situation of things before taking action.
The Finnish government had earlier in 2023 denied a sit-at-home order purported to have emanated from them. An investigation was also opened by the Finnish government on Ekpa’s activities. However, in his usual style, Ekpa tried to use the media focus to push his campaign. His followers insinuated that Ekpa was on the cover of a magazine due to his activism strides. It was fact-checked and found that it was misleading.
There has been a call by various civic societies and politicians to extradite Ekpa from Finland as well as cut diplomatic ties with the country and expel its ambassador.
Ekpa portrays misleading report of self-referendum declaration byOEAS
In a recent post, Ekpa stated that the Organization of Emerging African States (OEAS), is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) with a planned headquarters for South Sudan. OEAS is an organisation that supports emerging states in Africa, seeking self-determination.
Ekpa would further share a letter to support his claim declaring the self-referendum by Biafra as binding. The highlighted part being the resolution and authorisation of the charity organisation which reads, “The results of the Biafra Self Referendum shall be considered binding under international law as a definitive statement of the intentions and aspirations of the Biafran people.”
Ekpa’s post was also reported by another media organisation Capital Post.
OEAS is recognised as a public charity in the U.S. and is registered with the European Union and the United Nations. Despite its efforts to advocate for self-determination and highlight conflicts like the one in Southern Cameroons, the OEAS is not recognized as a powerful or influential entity on the global stage.
Although based in Washington DC with a General Assembly of States planned for Juba, South Sudan, their activities are out of the United States.
Their Activities and international strength
OEAS has in the past advocated for Cameroon, releasing similar statements and press releases. However, they do not wield strength and are not recognised internationally as such, thus limiting their activities to that of a charity and advocacy group.
Part of this is that they do not have any formal member states like the United Nations, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) or the African Union (AU).
Ekpa’s post and OEAS statement
OEAS does not possess the recognized authority to declare that the results of the Biafra Self-Referendum are binding under international law. Such declarations would require recognition from established international bodies like the United Nations or major sovereign states. While the OEAS may support self-determination efforts, its statements do not carry the legal weight needed to be considered binding under international law.
Verdict: Misleading
OEAS do not have the power to declare the Biafra self-referandum as binding under international law.
Ekpa Calls Nigerian Forces Terrorists
Ekpa, in a series of tweets this year, referred to Nigerian security forces as terrorists. In several tweets, he spoke on an ongoing war between the Nigerian Armed Forces and the Biafran Liberation Army where he claimed that the latter won.
According to Ekpa’s tweet, it can be inferred that the separatist group have formed the Biafran Liberation Army which is at loggerheads with Nigerian security forces.
Security forces in recent times have had various clashes in the east with what has been tagged as unknown gunmen.
However, there were cases where it was reported that security forces were attacked by separatist groups.
In March 2024, the Nigerian Military put Simon Ekpa on their wanted list.
Verdict: False
Ekpa has used social media in recent times to promote violence in the South East and made various false claims referring to the Nigerian Army as terrorists.
Call for Referendum
Ekpa in recent times has been persistent in calling for a referendum. On his X page, the self-proclaimed Prime Minister of Biafra Republic Government in-Exile BRGIE has begun a self-referendum E-voting for all Biafrans globally. The link for registration requires intending participants to fill in personal details like their name, state of origin, village, place of residence, and mobile number and also upload their passport photographs.
Controversies
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) declared recently that only its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, can call for a Biafra referendum.
Emma Powerful, the spokesman of IPOB, in a statement, urged Igbos to ignore Simon Ekpa, a self-proclaimed Biafra Prime Minister based in Finland, for attempting to trivialize the referendum and the succession struggle into mere entertainment.
He emphasised in the statement, “There’s nothing like a BIAFRA referendum for now.“
IPOB has further disowned Ekpa and his antics purporting that IPOB supporters were separate from Ekpa’s.
Ekpa was on July 8, 2021, appointed Director of Radio Biafra after the arrest and detention of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
He was however disengaged within weeks, with Emma Powerful citing insubordination. Ekpa has within years been able to garner significant followership and has become a powerful voice amongst the separatist group. He also shares multiple misleading and false information which he uses for propaganda.
On X he has over a hundred thousand followers.
