The Biafra Republic Government in Exile (BRGIE) has declared a two-day lockdown across the South-East region to mark the court appearance of its Prime Minister, Simon Ekpa, in Finland tomorrow, May 29.

The lockdown, the group said, is set for May 29 and 30, intended to honour Ekpa?s court appearance and celebrate the Biafra cause.

BRGIE?s acclaimed Minister of Information, Akparawa Sunny, who disclosed this in a statement yesterday, said the two days are to be observed as significant by all Biafrans, both in the South-East and abroad.

The Finnish government had, in November 2024, announced the arrest of Ekpa, alongside four others, on suspicion of terror-related activities, including incitement to violence and terrorism financing.

The Finnish police accused Ekpa of allegedly using social media to promote violence in the South-East region, targeting civilians and authorities.

?We confirm that these two days are significant in the lives of all Biafrans living at home and abroad. Our Prime Minister, Simon Ekpa, has been detained by the Finnish government since November 2024; imperatively, he will appear in Finnish court on May 29 and so Biafrans should honour him as a hero of our time who has sacrificed his life for Biafra,? the group said.

The organisation further warned the Ohanaeze leadership to desist from efforts aimed at sabotaging the quest for Biafra independence. The group criticised the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) over the sealing of shops in Onitsha Head Bridge Market, Anambra State, and the alleged imposition of fines ranging from N500,000 to N700,000 on traders.

BRGIE described the NAFDAC actions as economic persecution targeting Biafran traders, demanding the immediate unsealing of the shops.

?BRGIE also warns NAFDAC to unseal every Biafran shop that has been shut down by NAFDAC. The agency?s imposition of a blanket penalty of N500,000 per shop, later raised to N700,000 as a condition for reopening the market, is exploitative and without legal justification.?

MEANWHILE, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), yesterday, said the British government and its foreign conspirators cannot criminalise the ground using Ekpa.

IPOB insisted that the legitimacy of Biafra?s self-determination movement cannot be sabotaged by the British government and its foreign collaborators. The spokesman of IPOB, Emma Powerful, was reacting to the decision of the Finland government to fix May 30 for Ekpa?s terrorism trial.

Powerful noted that the date was a mockery of the pains and an attempt to distort history, causing distraction from the ongoing prosecution of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu. (The Guardian)

Update news