Terrorism: Biafra agitator Ekpa, four others arrested in Finland

Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa, alongside four other individuals, have been arrested in Finland for terror-related activities.

A report from Finland media said the self-declared Prime Minister of the Biafra Republic Government in exile, was remanded in custody by the Päijät-Häme District Court on suspicion of public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent.

The Central Criminal Police of Finland in a statement announced the arrests of five individuals on suspicion of terrorist crimes.

The police indicated that Ekpa was arrested “on suspicion of public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent” while the other four individuals were arrested “for financing a terrorist crime.”

According to the police, the suspect is believed to have promoted his activities from Finland through means that have incited violence against civilians and authorities, as well as other crimes in the South-Eastern region of Nigeria.

Crime Commissioner, Otto Hiltunen, head of the investigation from the Central Crime Police, stated that “the man has carried out this activity, among other things, on his social media channels.”

The police disclosed that four other individuals are suspected of financing this activity.

Hiltunen said the claims will be heard in the Päijät-Häme District Court today, November 21

All five suspects were arrested earlier this week, and “international cooperation has been carried out during the preliminary investigation,” Hiltunen said.

It would be recalled sometime in October this year, the Finnish government said it had started acting on the complaint by the Nigerian government against a Nigerian-Finnish citizen, Simon Ekpa, accused of leading brutal pro-Biafra secessionist campaigns in Nigeria’s South-east region.

Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland, Elina Valtonen, said in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, during a press conference she addressed alongside her Nordic counterparts, that Mr Ekpa’s case is now before Finnish courts.

“We have taken this up and discussed this with the Nigerian authorities… and the entire process is within our judicial system,” Ms Valtomen said, informing the gathering that the issue came up during a meeting with Nigerian government officials. She did not provide details of the legal process.

However, for years, the Nigerian government has demanded drastic actions from the Finnish government and the European Union to stop Mr Ekpa’s fiery social media activities fuelling killings and instability in Nigeria’s Southeast region.

Ms Valtomen and her Nordic counterparts arrived in Nigeria to deliberate on peace and security and to promote trade and investment cooperation between their countries and Nigeria. Mr Ekpa’s case, which has strained the Finnish government’s diplomatic relationship with the Nigerian government, was also discussed, according to Ms Valtomen, who avoided mentioning the name of the Nigerian-Finnish citizen.

Despite not explicitly mentioning Mr Ekpa’s name, her description of the case pointed unmistakably to Mr Ekpa, whose matter has created a fault line in the Nigeria-Finland diplomatic relationship.

The matter has put Finland in a problematic situation of having to navigate the blurry line between Mr Ekpa’s rights to freedom of expression and the criminality of his inciteful social media activities leading to killings and other forms of violence in Nigeria’s South-east.

But the Finish government acted on its promises when Ekpa and four others were arrested for terror-related activities.