The arrest of the leader of Autopilot, a group that claimed to be infiltrated by the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPoB, Simon Ekpa was received with joy in the South- East. This is because his group has hijacked the original peaceful activities of IPoB, and turned them into violence, killing, kidnapping, maiming, and destroying properties of residents of the South-East region.

He manipulated his destructive followers through social media, and called for illegal sit-at-home, resulting in violent enforcement by his followers. He gained more notoriety when he called for the boycott of Nigeria?s 2023 general elections. So when the information filtered into Nigeria that the Finnish authorities arrested him for alleged international terrorism-related offence, the people of the region heaved a sigh of relief.

His arrest there was received with joy in the region. However, the question remains; is his arrest and trial going to restore peace and security in the devastated region?

Simon Ekpa?s arrest will reduce insecurity, tension?Ebonyi Indigenes

Residents of Ebonyi State lauded the arrest of Ekpa. Some of the residents of Abakaliki who spoke to SEV called for Ekpa?s extradition to be prosecuted in Nigeria. They insisted that Simon Ekpa should pay for the many lives and properties lost in the South-East following his reckless utterances and actions. They also alleged that he has committed grave atrocities against the people of the region through his violent speeches, inciting videos, and declaring a sit-at-home at will.

A businessman at Abakaliki International Market, Elias Nwibo said Ekpa has caused several atrocities and havoc in the zone without considering the implications to the ordinary citizens. He believes that his arrest will restore peace to the zone as his lieutenants, foot soldiers, and field marshals will be on the run.

Nwibo urged the stakeholders and governors of the zone to use this opportunity to champion the crusade for peace and give all the agitators a chance to embrace peace and restore security in the zone.

?We are happy that Ekpa has been arrested with others by the Finnish authorities over their involvement in terrorism activities. He has caused much damage to the South-East zone. We want him to be brought back to Nigeria to face the wrath of the law because nobody is above the law.

?We are all Biafrans and want to secede from present Nigeria due to maltreatment but we have to follow due process. But, Ekpa wanted to kill everybody through his voice notes and videos from the comfort of his abode, causing tension and attacks on innocent citizens. Now he is behind bars, I think peace will gradually return to the zone,? he said.

The Methodist Archbishop of Okigwe Archdiocese and Bishop of Okigwe Diocese, Most Rev. Biereonwu Livinus Onuagha said the problem of insecurity in the region was caused by the Federal Government that renditioned Kanu from Kenya and continued to detain him despite court orders to the contrary. If the Federal Government desires peace in the region, let them release Nnamdi Kanu, he said.

According to him, the arrest and trial of Simon Ekpa in far away Finland will not solve the problem of insecurity in the South-East, let them follow up by releasing Kanu. He said that Igbo people are not lazy.

?Simon Ekpa cannot stay in Finland where there is a well-constituted government to direct what will be happening in Nigeria, he is an individual. Nigerians have been asking for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and the Nigerian government has been giving deaf ears to the call. So Simon Ekpa?s arrest will not solve the insecurity problem in the South-East.

?Why can?t Nnamdi Kanu be released? Why should he be held for this number of years, what did he do to warrant the kind of treatment being given to him? The Courts of competent jurisdiction have discharged and acquitted him, why is he still in detention? Clamping down on the Igbo will never solve the problem of Nigeria; rather it will continue to aggravate the problem of the country wittingly or unwittingly.

?When you are dealing with an innocent person, maltreating him, you are invariably holding yourself captive and that is what is affecting Nigeria. They think it is only the South-East that is suffering because of the continued detention of Nnamdi Kanu and the subsequent security crisis. It is affecting other parts of the country in one way or the other.

?When you are holding an Igbo man thinking you are harming him, he is busy finding alternative ways to wriggle himself out of the maltreatment. Nigeria as a country is therefore holding itself captive by maltreating Ndigbo. The earlier the case of Igbo in Nigeria is settled, the better for the Nigerian nation. I will continue to say that unless the sun is allowed to rise from the East, the problem in the country will continue and Nigeria will continue to be in darkness.

?The more you prevent the sun from rising from the East, the more darkness you will see in this nation; this nation can never get up, there is no need to hide from saying this truth. The nation can only get up when you allow the sun to rise from the East. Free Nnamdi Kanu, the insecurity in the South-East will vanish,? Archbishop Onuagha declared.

A resident of Abakaliki, Nwaliose Egbu said that the arrest of Ekpa would not physically restore immediate peace in the region without the release of Nnamdi Kanu and the stakeholders sitting down to talk to one another.

?The governors and other stakeholders in the South-East need to come together and convene a security summit where Igbo problems will be discussed holistically. We should come together to discuss the Igbo problem to find lasting peace in our zone. Some persons are fighting for Igbo ideology which should be in the interest of the people but some people are being sentimental about it. There are signs of division among Igbo stakeholders. They should organise a summit where Igbo problems will be discussed and trashed? he advised.

A vulcanizer in Owerri, Imo State, Emeka Nwanosike said Ekpa should be made to pay for his evil actions. Nwanosike regretted that the region lost so much as a result of Ekpa?s acts.

He submitted that the arrest has sent a strong message to Ekpa?s followers that he is not above the law as he makes them believe. He believes that the arrest, and releasing Nnamdi Kanu will bring peace and security in the South-East.

Ekpa should pay for the damages he has caused in the South-East. His arrest will prove to his supporters that he is not above the law as he makes them believe. How can somebody live in Finland and continue to destroy the South-East in the name of fighting for Biafra??

The traditional ruler of Oriendu autonomous community, Umuahia North Council Area, Eze Philip Ajomiwe thinks that the arrest of Simon Ekpa is not the solution to the insecurity and search for peace in the region. Rather, what is needed is the immediate release of Nnamdi Kanu.

He said: ?Arrest of Ekpa won?t solve the insecurity in the South- East. I think it will rather increase it. We are talking of releasing Nnamdi Kanu but the government has not done anything about that. Even though Ekpa has made a lot of utterances that I don?t support, I don?t think his arrest or repatriation will bring any solution. Rather, it will worsen things.

?We don?t want the killing of anybody, whether security operatives or civilians. If the Federal Government wants peace to be restored in the South-East, they should release Nnamdi Kanu.?

A former commissioner in Abia State, Prince Emeka Okafor also believes that Kanu?s release will restore peace and security in the region. He said the region can come out of this ugly menace if Nnamdi Kanu is released from detention, and urged the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency, free Nnamdi Kanu.

A journalist, Godwin Eke commended Ekpa?s arrest because his activities were purely violent.

?His activities were violent and cannot bring development; rather violence brings about retrogression and stagnation, destruction of lives and property. Could you imagine the number of people who were killed in cold blood due to his violent and reckless activities? His activities have destroyed the economy and businesses of the Igbo known for their industrious and enterprising spirit. We don?t depend on the government for survival, Igbo are known for their businesses, buying and selling and frequent sit-at-home has destroyed many businesses. His arrest will bring peace to the region. Governors of the South-East should come together to restore peace in the zone?, Eke noted.

An Igbo leader, Chief Chukwuma Okoro said the arrest of Ekpa will restore peace and security in the South-East zone.

?For the past couple of years, the South-East has been on fire due to Ekpa?s sit-at-home order, leading to killings and destruction of properties. It affected the zone?s economy because the South-East is the business hub of the country. So, frequent call to sit at home, and shutting down schools, banks, and markets was a grave danger to the economy of the zone.

?I am very happy for his arrest, it will calm the situation and tension in the South-East. His arrest will reduce the level of killings associated with his sit-at-home order. Finnish authorities should continue to detain and prosecute him there so that peace will return to the zone.

?They should ensure that nothing happens to him because if he dies in their custody, what will happen here will be worse than what we experienced a few months ago. The South-East governors should come in and stabilise the peace that may come as a result of the arrest of Ekpa. The governors should ensure that the region is calm. They should sensitise the people, bring them together, and assure them that nothing will happen to them as their leaders. They should build the confidence of the people back within the period,? Chief Okoro appealed.

The Coalition of South-East Youth Leaders, COSEYL, said the arrest of Ekpa alone may not bring security and peace in the region, but releasing Nnamdi Kanu will. They have therefore called on the governors in the region to come together and genuinely work to free Kanu.

?What will restore security in the zone is the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from detention. The South- East governors should work as a team to secure the release of Nnamdi Kanu. This is the best approach in pursuit of peace and security in the region. We need the governors to appreciate the fact that Nnamdi Kanu is a major factor in restoring peace to the South-East.

?The problem is whether the governors are genuinely interested in having Nnamdi Kanu regain freedom.

?We remember that the people of South-East were living in peace and going about their normal businesses until Nnamdi Kanu was arrested in Kenya and brought back to Nigeria. This was the beginning of the security crisis in the South-East. Nnamdi Kanu?s arrest brought the security crisis and the destruction of Igbo land.

?People have been killed; vehicles, properties, and goods worth billions of naira destroyed. The solution is for the South-East governors to genuinely work together and move for the release of the IPOB leader,? COSEYL?s President Goodluck Ibem said.

The Igboezue International Association, Nigeria and the Diaspora, IIAND, urged the Federal Government to release Nnamdi Kanu instead of jubilation over the arrest and prosecution of Simon Ekpa.

IIAN National President, Chief Pius Okoye pointedly accused the Federal Government of being responsible for the insecurity in the region by deliberately refusing to release the IPoB leader, Mazi Kanu, after the courts have discharged him.

?Everything that is being said about Ekpa are allegations that have not been proved, his arrest does not make any meaning to Ndigbo. What the Igbo want now that will bring instant peace and security to Igbo land is the release of Nnamdi Kanu. The Federal Government of Nigeria knows that and deliberately doesn?t want to do the needful.

?It is surprising that the present administration of Bola Tinubu is still keeping Nnamdi Kanu, after all the appeals by prominent Igbo leaders, living and dead.

?Today they want us to clap for them and the Finnish Government for the arrest of Simon Ekpa; for doing what? We will not clap for them because they are part of our problem. If they had done the needful, Simon Ekpa would not have done what he was accused of doing. If they did not arrest and extraordinarily rendition Mazi Kanu, and have not allowed his case to stall, Ekpa would not do what he is being accused of doing.?

Residents of Imo State who spoke on the issue expressed joy over the arrest and trial of Ekpa and called for Kanu?s release.

A trader, Mrs. Ike Uju said: ?Let us have peace of mind; the insecurity is too much, we are suffering.

Please let us have peace of mind. Let these killings stop. Ekpa, who is giving his boys the order to force them to sit at home has brought a lot of destruction and bloodshed to Igbo land. Let them hold him there so we can have peace in our land.?

Also, a meat seller, at Relief Market, Dee Saby Uwandu said: ?Not only arresting him, they also should arrest his boys. However, he advised that the time has come to release Nnamdi Kanu from detention?. (Vanguard)

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