How about Simon Ekpa’s Social Media Enablers?
The recent frenzy in Nigeria over the arrest of Simon Ekpa by Finnish authorities for links to terrorism in South Eastern Nigeria is totally uncalled for — it is long overdue. Instead, Nigerians, especially those in authority, should bury their heads in shame as a crime as glaring as Ekpa’s was being perpetrated under their very noses, with them being none the wiser.
If anything, the Brazilian Supreme Court’s tussle with X and its erratic owner, Elon Musk, should have signaled to Nigerian authorities the need to rein in social media platforms like X and Meta, whose “free speech” policy allowed a character like Simon Ekpa, a self-declared leader of a Nigerian-court designated terrorist group, that’s IPOB — we’ll get to that later — fester online like bacteria.
For context, Simon Ekpa is the de facto leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a secessionist group out of South Eastern Nigeria — whose primary goal is the independence of Biafra from Nigeria, whether by peaceful or violent means. For those who do not know Biafra, it is the former Eastern region of Nigeria, a short-lived state after seceding from Nigeria in 1967. What followed the declaration of independence by the then leader of Biafra, Odumegwu Ojukwu, was a bloody 3-year civil war in which Nigeria was victorious in bringing back the separatists into the fold. For more on Biafra and its viability in contemporary Nigeria, read my piece, “Has the sun set on Biafra?”
Not to mince words, IPOB, that is, the Indigenous People of Biafra, is a cancer; it’s a cancer that metastasized from the lingering negative sentiments the Igbos still have regarding the Nigerian civil war and the injustice that is perpetrated on the South East, just like every other region in Nigeria, by the ruling political elites.
I don’t agree with the pervasive view in the South East that the South East is particularly marginalised by the Federal government when it comes to infrastructure and overall governance. Thankfully, this argument is gradually coming apart as the Federal government has been successively delegating to the State government the power to regulate critical aspects of the Nigerian economy, such as locomotives and electricity, which were formerly exclusively within the purview of the Federal government.
Nevertheless, Ekpa didn’t come to lead the IPOB until 2021, when a gaping power vacuum appeared in the terrorist organization with the Nigerian government’s capture of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, in Kenya. In protest of the Nigerian government’s detention of its leader Nnamdi Kanu, IPOB under the control of Simon Ekpa, some 8,900 kilometers in Lahti, Finland, issued a sit-at-home order grinding all economic activities in South Eastern Nigeria to a halt on Mondays. Banks, schools, and even government offices are closed on Mondays in Nigeria’s South East, and those who do not comply are violently compelled, often at the cost of their lives.
A blanket of violence fell over the South East with the change of regime at IPOB. The new administration, Simon Ekpa’s, didn’t seem to be shy about resorting to violence in fulfilment of its objectives. From the safety of his abode in Lahti, Finland, again, some 8900 kilometers away, Simon Ekpa posted violent rhetoric — like those referring to the Nigerian military as terrorists that needed to be exterminated from Biafra land — on Meta and X. It was under the rule of Ekpa that the trend of “unknown gunmen” began in the South East giving credence to more violence and the proliferation of arms. The South East was and still is at war with itself. Radical elements, some under the banner of IPOB, kidnap, torture, kill, steal, and destroy properties of people. Chaos became the order of the day under Simon Ekpa.
Nevertheless, given the recent news of the arrest of Ekpa in Finland by Finnish authorities over terror in South Eastern Nigeria and the attempts at extradition to Nigeria by the Nigerian government, things seem to be looking up for Nigerians, especially those in the South East. However, the work is far from over. How about the big tech companies that gave Simon Ekpa the platform — quite literally — to lead a terrorist organization (IPOB), 21st-century style, and foment violence in the South East? I am referring to Meta and X in particular.
While X and Meta can be catalysts for grassroots movements like #EndSars, let’s not be naïve to think they cannot also be used as meeting grounds for nefarious purposes and groups. Take the United Kingdom, for example; a violent far-right anti-migrant protest with a hint of Islamophobia broke out on the streets from misinformation that spread on X that the stabbing of three young girls in Southport was done by a Muslim asylum seeker. The truth — the heinous murder of the three Southport girls was done by a Brit, a fact that was sidelined as controversial influencers like Andrew Tate unchecked fanned the embers of violence by promoting through their posts on X the idea that the crime was committed by an “undocumented migrant.”
We live in an age where both good and bad information speeds across the internet in a matter of seconds. While both good and bad information tend to have exponential effects in real, everyday life, bad information should be systematically checked and removed in order to avoid, for example, the wanton killings and destruction still ongoing in Nigeria’s South East courtesy of Simon Ekpa and his violent rhetoric.
The question that comes to mind, especially regarding social media, is: whose responsibility is it to expunge the nasty, dirty, misleading bad information on social media platforms? The social media platforms themselves? It’s laughable to think that profit-seeking companies whose algorithms amplify sensational information — whether good or bad, will go out of their way, without being compelled, to take down wrongful and misleading posts on their platforms. What’s more? With Elon Musk, a free speech absolutist, as the owner of X, the guardrails have more or less fallen off X.
It is then incumbent on the government to take on the responsibility of prodding social media platforms to expunge harmful content on their platforms. In this regard, as expected, the European Union has taken the lead with the passing of the Digital Services Act, which has as its main goal the prevention of illegal and harmful activities online and the spread of disinformation. Non-compliance with the E.U. law may cost social media platforms as much as 6% of their worldwide annual turnover.
In Nigeria, however, no laws exist to stem the spread of illegal and harmful content online, hence the rampage of Simon Ekpa and his likes. At best, what exists in this regard is the less-known Code of Practice for Interactive Computer Service Platforms and Internet Intermediaries issued by the NITDA.
While the extradition of Simon Ekpa from Finland is being processed by the Nigerian government, they should also look into regulating the big social media companies like X and Meta, who, without batting an eyelid, provided the stage for Simon Ekpa to sell his dangerous wares.
In conclusion, while the effects of what Simon Ekpa caused will be long felt in Nigeria, especially South Eastern Nigeria, Simon Ekpa is merely a canary in the coal mine of Nigeria’s digital world if it is left to be the wild West.
