JamzNG Latest News, Gist, Entertainment in Nigeria
The condemnation of Simon Ekpa by the District Court of Päijät-Häme in Finland to six years of prison for crimes related to terrorism is both a welcome development and a memory that makes us reflect on the chronic inability of the Nigerian government to confront insecurity and keep responsible for violence at home.
Ekpa, who was designed as “Prime Minister of the Biafra Government in exile”, exploited the pains and frustrations in the south -est of Nigeria to encourage violence, mobilize armed groups and promote blood spreading through social media. The Finnish court discovered that its activities have gone through the line from political agitation to terrorism – organizing armed groups, facilitating the acquisition of weapons and soliciting its followers to commit crimes in Nigeria.
That justice has not arrived in Nigeria, but in distant Finland is deeply told.
A foreign government investigated, pursued and condemned a man to sponsor the terrorism that killed and mutilated the Nigerians, while our authorities have distorted their gaze. This is not only an accusation of Simon Ekpa, but also of a Nigerian state that continues to play politicians with terrorism, corruption and insecurity.
We have already seen this model before. The United Kingdom tried and condemned James Iberi, a former Nigerian governor, for corruption, even if the Efcc and the Nigerian courts have prevailed, compromised and allowed him to escape justice at home.
Now, Finland has done what Nigeria has not done with the Ekpa – they consider it responsible for its role in the violence that the communities in the south -st has devastated.
In the meantime, those who orchestrate violence at local-side in the mask of “unknown armed men”, political criminals or militias supported by the state-state almost never investigated, not to mention the pursuit. Instead, ordinary citizens, journalists and peaceful demonstrators bring the weight of the police and military repressions.
The Nigerian government cannot continue to outsource justice to foreign jurisdictions. It must demonstrate the political will to investigate, pursue and punish terrorism and corruption at home, regardless of those involved. Selective justice and impunity feed only the cycle of violence and erode public trust in institutions.
Simon Ekpa’s condemnation should serve as a claim for his countless victims in the south-east and an alarm bell for the Nigerian authorities: delayed justice is not only the denied justice, but is externalized.
– Okechukwu nwanguma is executive director of the State of law and the center of Advieto
Post views:
40
