Nigeria Tracking Ekpa’s Case in Finland

The Federal Government (FG) of Nigeria says it is closely monitoring the legal case of detained Nigerian-Finnish citizen and leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Simon Ekpa.

The FG made this known on Friday in a statement signed by the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa.

This comes after Ekpa was arrested in Finland on charges of inciting terrorism and promoting violence.

Finnish authorities detained Ekpa on Thursday, November 21, 2024.

The verdict of the Finnish District Court of Päijät-Häme is to keep Ekpa in custody for the aforementions charges.

The government of Nigeria cite IPOB’s impact on the security of the country and why they are following proceedings in Finland keenly.

The FG say Ekpa’s actions is caused violence in the South-East region of Nigeria.

This las led the government to pile pressure on Finland to check the actions of Ekpa.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to confirm the arrest of Mr Simon Njoku Ekpa, a Nigerian-Finnish citizen and prominent leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), by Finnish authorities on Thursday, November 21, 2024.

“He was charged with inciting terrorism and promoting violence. The Finnish District Court of Päijät-Häme ruled to detain him on probable cause for publicly inciting crimes with terrorist intent.

“The Ministry wishes to affirm that the arrest of Mr Simon Ekpa is a significant development in addressing the activities of IPOB, and also neutralising the influence of transnational actors and their impact on our national security.

“The Ministry will continue to monitor the legal proceedings and provide further updates as the case progresses,” the statement read.