Pro-Biafra separatist agitator, Simon Ekpa has been released on Thursday after hours of questioning by police in Finland.
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 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.
Simon Ekpa Released
The Finnish Central Criminal Police confirmed Ekpa’s release on Thursday evening after he was arrested for a suspected crime, according to HS reports.
The police claimed that its operation in Lahti and the subsequent arrest of the pro-Biafra agitator were in connection with the ongoing preliminary investigation.
“The person being questioned today is suspected of a crime. We will return to the title on Friday,” Tommi Reen from the Central Criminal Police told HS during a phone interview.
It was gathered that Ekpa’s arrest followed relentless pressure mounted by the Federal Government and Igbo leaders on the Finland government over his inciting comments and sit-at-home orders to South-East residents.
Before his arrest on Thursday, many Nigerians from across the world signed a petition appealing to the Finnish government, Nigerian Government, and the European Union to arrest Ekpa.
The Igbo community in Finland had in January decried what it termed Ekpa’s “seditious statements” from Lahti in Finland, urging the Finnish authorities to restrain the separatist.
In a statement signed by one Kingsley Orji, the Igbo community called on both governments of Finland and Nigeria to commence an immediate investigation of Ekpa with a view to bringing him to justice.
“There is no place on the planet where people can simply hide, incite violence, and escape punishment. Therefore, the Igbo community in Finland is calling for action as follows:
“That Simon Ekpa is immediately restrained, investigated, and made to face the full wrath of the law both in Finland and in Nigeria,” the statement partly reads.
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.
