Simon Ekpa’s Arrest Brought Down Security Threat In South-East- CDS

The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa on Tuesday said the arrest of Nigerian-Finnish citizen, Simon Ekpa has brought down the level of insecurity in the South-East.
Musa stated that the launch of Operation Udoka by the Defence Headquarters is gradually restoring peace in the troubled region.
He spoke during an appearance before members of the House Committee on Defence to defend the 2025 defence proposal on Tuesday.
Ekpa, a self-acclaimed leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra was arrested in November 2024 by Finnish security agents owing to his violent and inciting campaigns on radio and social media.
The general said, “With the arrest of Simon Ekpa, the tension in the South-East has greatly reduced. Also with Operation Udoka, we’re picking up most of the leadership of these groups, taking them out and making sure that the place is peaceful.
“The sit-at-home on Mondays is gradually diminishing. We’re also working with the political leaders there because we understand, like I always say that we need local support because without it, it’s difficult. You know, the terrain is very challenging, so we need to work together. It is improving.”
He also pledged the continuous deployment of non-kinetic approaches to tackling the insecurity challenges in the region.
“We had some intelligence and worked ahead to ensure that everywhere during the last holidays was kept peaceful. That has happened and we intend to do that and continue to do more. What we try to encourage is synergy in our operations.
“And like we always appeal, Nigerians must take ownership of their armed forces, they have to take ownership of the security challenges we are facing. It’s not a challenge for the armed forces alone or security agencies, it’s everybody’s responsibility to do,” he added.
That said, Gen Musa assured Nigerians that with the steps so far taken, the country is now aiming to attain 2.2mbpd crude oil production in the months ahead.
“What we have done is that we have established and enhanced the kinetic efforts for the three services for our operations. We have the Delta Safe, which is in the South-South for oil theft and militancy. At least for the first time now, we have been able to reach our OPEC oil quota for Nigeria and we intend to do more.
“Our target is to hit 2.2mbpd for Nigeria. It’s not something that we can do alone. We also need other stakeholders in the oil industry to also play their role. We are doing more, providing more security. We are close to 2m barrels per day. We intend to do more. This year, we want to intensify our operations,” he assured.
The CDS also called for improvement of border management to address the problem of smuggling even as he added that the military in the past year rescued many children who were been trafficked out of the country.
“We have rescued several children being trafficked across Nigeria to other countries. We also tackled trafficking of drugs, small arms, and light weapons. We’re working in tandem with the Nigerian Customs. When we make such arrests, we call either the Nigerian Drugs Law Enforcement Agency or call the Customs and hand such people over,” he stressed.
He also told the committee that the Defence Headquarters is looking at the possibility of an upward review of troops’ welfare, particularly the ration cash allowance, noting that “We are still struggling to pay less than N2,000 per soldier per head to feed.”
Musa identified accommodation and equipment as some of the urgent needs of military personnel and called for the rebuilding of military barracks to enhance their living conditions across the country.
A member of the Committee, Fatima Talba urged Musa to prioritise of welfare of junior officers, saying, “You must take the remuneration of your junior staff very seriously. Treat them very well. If you do this, they will support your vision. The remuneration has to be good because they are your informants, your everything.”
Chairman of House Committee on Defence, Babajimi Benson, said as representatives of the people, the lawmakers will ensure that every naira is judiciously spent to strengthen the operational capacity of the Armed Forces to deliver tangible results.