The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, the overarching organization representing Ijaw youths, has issued a stern warning to Simon Ekpa and his faction of Biafra advocates, cautioning them against any encroachment into the Niger Delta region. They unequivocally state that the Ijaw community is not aligned with Biafra and will vehemently oppose any attempts to suggest otherwise.
This declaration from the IYC comes in response to an online video posted on Twitter by Simon Ekpa, an outspoken advocate for Biafran independence who currently resides in exile. In the video, Ekpa asserts that the Ijaw people are an integral part of the envisioned Biafran state.
In a statement released on Friday by the national spokesman for the IYC, Ambassador Binebai Yerin Princewill, the organization firmly rebuffs Ekpa’s claims, emphasizing that the Ijaw populace will not entertain any further unwarranted assertions regarding their identity or territorial affiliation with BiafraPrincewill said: “The attention of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide has been drawn to a strange video by one Simon Ekpa, who is from the eastern part of Nigeria, now masquerading as the leader of Biafra in exile. “In the said video posted on X, he tried to establish Ijaw territories as part of his imaginary Biafra state.
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“In the said video, Ekpa expressed the point that Nigerian soldiers attacked his Biafra people and Biafra republic. He was simply referring to the Okuama attack in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State on March 14, 2024 wherein 17 soldiers were killed and the subsequent onslaught carried out by the military on Igbomotoru and Peremabiri, Ijaw communities in Bayelsa State.
“The fundamental claim the renegade Biafra nationalist is making is that both Okuama community in Delta and Igbomotoru in Bayelsa state are part of his purported Biafran State. He thus threatened to unleash mayhem on Nigerian soldiers to avenge the death of civilians who had lost their lives in the military onslaught.”
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Nevertheless, the spokesperson for the IYC noted that the Council is currently dealing with numerous challenges stemming from the assault on soldiers and the subsequent incursion of Ijaw communities by the military, leading to significant loss of life.
