Biafra Government-in-Exile Rejects Ogechukwu Nkere As Simon Ekpa’s Successor And ‘Prime Minister’, Calls Him An Impostor
Biafra Government-in-Exile Rejects Ogechukwu Nkere As Simon Ekpa’s Successor And ‘Prime Minister’, Calls Him An Impostor
An official press release issued by the BRGIE on Thursday disclosed that Nkere had been elected by members of its cabinet as its new leader.
The separatist group, Biafra Republic Government in Exile (BRGIE), has disowned what it described as “impostors and unauthorised claims of leadership” following a gathering that purportedly appointed one Ogechukwu Nkere as “Prime Minister of a Biafra Republic Government in Exile.”
SaharaReporters earlier reported that the BRGIE had announced the election of Honorable Ogechukwu Nkere as its new Prime Minister.
An official press release issued by the BRGIE on Thursday disclosed that Nkere had been elected by members of its cabinet as its new leader.
However, in a statement dated January 15, 2026, and signed by its Deputy Prime Minister, Dr Ngozi Orabueze, the group said Nkere, also known as Issaiah Anyaogu, had no legitimacy or mandate to represent Biafrans or speak on behalf of any Biafran institution.
“We categorically and unequivocally state that this individual, and those promoting him, have no legitimacy, mandate, authority, or authorization whatsoever to speak for or represent the people of Biafra, the Biafran Government, or any of its institutions,” the statement said.
The group alleged that Nkere was a “documented criminal convict in the United States,” accusing him of a history of alcohol abuse, domestic violence and public nuisance offences, claims it said further disqualified him from any leadership role.
The statement likened the development to what it described as past “spectacles” involving other figures, accusing unnamed actors of attempting to sow division within the Biafran movement.
“Like the recent spectacle associated with Ralph Uwazuruike, this act is a deliberate provocation and a familiar destabilization tactic historically deployed by the Nigerian regime and its neo-colonial collaborators to falsely portray division within the Biafran leadership,” the group said.
It insisted there was no leadership crisis within its ranks, declaring that “the leadership continuum of Biafra is clear, unbroken, and firmly established.”
According to the statement, the leadership succession runs “from Odumegwu Ojukwu, to our Leader H.E. Nnamdi Kanu, to our Prime Minister H.E. Simon Ekpa; currently under unlawful detention in Finland, and to the present administration led by H.E. Dr Ngozi Orabueze, Deputy Prime Minister of the United States of Biafra.”
The group warned that any attempt to undermine this leadership, especially during what it described as the “illegal detention” of its Prime Minister, would not be tolerated.
The statement also reiterated claims surrounding the declaration of a Biafran state, asserting that the “United States of Biafra was lawfully restored following a successful referendum” held on November 29, 2024.
“For the avoidance of doubt, over 50 million Biafrans, at home and abroad, participated physically and digitally in that referendum,” it claimed, adding that “over 1,500 Biafrans gathered in Lahti, Finland for the declaration ceremony,” while “517 accredited delegates from the 40 states of Biafra ratified and signed the Declaration Document.”
It further warned individuals and organisations against engaging with Nkere and others it described as “unauthorized impostors.”
“Any individual or group dealing with Ogechukwu Nkere, Elias Gerasoulis, Akparawa Sunny, Succes Nweke, or any other unauthorized impostor does so entirely at their own risk,” the statement said, stressing that the group would not be responsible for “any loss, deceit, misrepresentation, or damage” arising from such engagements.
Reaffirming its position, the group said it would only be represented by “disciplined, incorruptible, and duly mandated individuals,” adding that “mockery of our leaders, our people, our government, or our nation is unacceptable and will be confronted decisively; politically, legally, and diplomatically.”
It also announced that the structures of the former Biafra Republic Government in Exile had been dissolved and integrated into what it described as the institutional framework of the United States of Biafra following the November 2024 declaration.
“Biafra is one. Our mandate is clear. Our resolve is unshaken,” the statement concluded.
In 2025, the Päijät-Häme District Court in Finland convicted and sentenced Ekpa to six years in prison on terrorism charges.
Ekpa was found guilty of inciting terrorism in Nigeria and promoting the independence of the Biafra region through illegal means between 2021 and 2024.
