Finnish Embassy in Nigeria speaks to Neusroom on Simon Ekpa’s reported arrest
Barely two days to Nigeria’s 2023 Presidential election and nine days after the Nigerian government summoned Finnish Ambassador in Nigeria over the activities of Simon Ekpa, the factional leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the secessionist leader was reportedly arrested at his base in Lahti, Finland on Thursday, February 23, 2025.
Although details about his arrest are still sketchy, the Finnish Embassy in Nigeria told Neusroom that the “Finnish National Bureau of Investigation is yet to provide more details on the arrest.”
“Helsingin Sanomat, a Finnish newspaper, has reported today that they have seen Mr. Ekpa being escorted from his home by Finnish police officers in plainclothes,” Jussi Ala-Lahti, a Junior Advisor at the FInnish Embassy in Abuha told Neusroom via email.
Neusroom sent an email to the Finland Police, they are yet to respond.
Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s largest subscription newspaper, said its crew was at Ekpa’s home for a scheduled interview when he was led away by officials of the country’s National Bureau of Investigations.
“Police apprehended one man from the apartment. The KRP suspects the arrested man of a crime, but does not comment at this point on the criminal title,” Tommi Reen of Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation told the newspaper.
Since Nnamdi Kanu’s arrest by the Nigerian government in 2021, Ekpa has declared himself the IPOB’s leader. Through his social media accounts and online radio, he incites violence across the Southeast by instigating regular sit-at-homes which he claims is in solidarity with Kanu who is being held in detention by the Department of State Service (DSS).
On February 13, 2023, Ekpa declared a six-day sit-at-home order across the entire region from February 23 to 28, 2023 as he declared that there would be no election in the region. The order, as Neusroom reported, sparked fear across the region. Ekpa’s orders are believed to be carried out by the Eastern Security Network (ESN), an armed wing of IPOB established by Kanu in 2020.
In 2021, the activities of ESN/IPOB resulted in the death of over 200 people. Also, the region has lost nearly $4 trillion within two years due to the activities of the proscribed group.
Ekpa’s arrest has given a breath of fresh air, particularly to first-time voters who are eager to vote in Saturday’s election.
Okechi Anaba, a first-time voter in the Umuala Nsulu, Abia State, who said on February 15, 2023, that Ekpa’s sit-at-home order “will dull the morale of the people in the Southeast region,” told a Neusroom correspondent that his arrest is necessary to dispense the growing fear as the election approaches.
“This is the best news this year. He (Ekpa) has taken advantage of the Biafran movement to incite violence in Igboland,” he said.
