Finland Authorities Confirm Simon Ekpa’s Arrest, Says He’s Detained In Police Custody

Finland authorities have confirmed the arrest of a popular pro-Biafra separatist agitator, Simon Ekpa.

KanyiDaily had reported that Ekpa was picked up from his apartment in Lahti region of Finland by officers from the Finnish Central Criminal Police on Thursday morning, February 23.

A Finland-based newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, reported that Ekpa was scheduled for an interview in his residence, but to their surprise, the Finland police, KRP, answered when the HS team rang the separatist bell.

The publication said the KRP prevented their team from entering Ekpa’s apartment and said that the interview would be moved “to the future”.

When contacted, an official of the Finnish Embassy in Abuja confirmed Ekpa’s arrest to PUNCH on Thursday, saying “It is our understanding that he is currently in police custody in Finland,”

“According to information available to us, the image is verified by Helsingin Sanomat, a Finnish newspaper; in it, Ekpa is seen being escorted out of his home in Lahti by plainclothes Finnish police”, the official volunteered.

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Ekpa, a leader of the Autopilot group faction of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), had repeatedly ordered sit-at-home across the South-East in Nigeria, insisting that there would be no election in the region this year.

He recently declared a sit-at-home from today, February 23 to 28, to stop the conduct of the 2023 general election in the South-East, but IPOB had distanced the secessionist group from the order.

The separatist leader has been fingered as being the arrowhead of several killings by ‘unknown gunmen’, a dangerous armed militia responsible for the deaths of several people and even public officials in the South-East.

It was gathered that some Nigerians had reported Ekpa to the Finnish Government over the threats by the separatist leader and his teeming followers that provokes killings, maiming, burning and other destructive activities in the South-East.

Simon Ekpa’s arrest comes a few days after he denied reports that the Finish government gave him 48 hours to call off the sit-at-home orders or risk being arrested and charged with international terrorism.

KanyiDaily recalls that Simon Ekpa was appointed to replace Nnamdi Kanu following the re-arrest of the IPOB leader by the federal government of Nigeria.