Finnish-Nigerian separatist leader Simon Ekpa has been arrested in Finland alongside four others on suspicion of terror-related activities, including incitement to violence and terrorism financing. According to local publication Yle, Ekpa was remanded in custody by the Päijät-Häme District Court on charges of public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent.
The publication reported that the Finnish Central Criminal Police confirmed the arrests in a statement on Thursday, noting that the other suspects were apprehended for allegedly financing terrorist activities. “The detention demands are related to a preliminary investigation in which a Finnish citizen of Nigerian descent, born in the 1980s, is suspected of public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent,” the police said.
Ekpa is accused of coordinating violent actions against civilians and authorities in Nigeria’s South-East region from Finland, using social media platforms to further his agenda. “The police suspect that the man [under investigation] has furthered his efforts from Finland in such a way that has resulted in violence against civilians and public authorities and in other crimes in South-East Nigeria,” Detective Chief Inspector Otto Hiltunen said in a statement.
The suspect “carried out this activity by campaigning, for example, on his social media channels,” Hiltunen said. In 2023, he was briefly detained by Finnish authorities on allegations of fundraising fraud. Nigerian authorities have accused Ekpa of using social media to instigate violence by his followers in Nigeria, many of them young people. Police in Finland said the investigation involves international cooperation.
Ekpa’s separatist activism has drawn global attention, particularly his calls to boycott Nigerian elections.”No elections will be held! Nigerian elections will not be allowed in Biafran territory in 2023,” he declared in a video on social media. Ekpa has also publicly justified the use of violence. “I support violence against Nigerian government forces. This is self-defence. They constantly attack us and have committed numerous war crimes. We have no choice but to defend ourselves,” he stated.
