The Finnish Government has disclosed that it is taking action in the case of pro-Biafran agitator, Simon Ekpa, over his secession activities with the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in the South-East of Nigeria.
Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Elina Valtonen, made the disclosure in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, during a press conference she addressed alongside her Nordic counterparts on Tuesday.
According to her, the case of Ekpa whose activities were reported to the Finnish government by the Nigerian government, is now before Finnish courts.
Self-proclaimed Biafra Prime Minister Ekpa has been a strong proponent of sit-at-home directives in the South Eastern states despite the mainstream leadership of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, suspending the exercise.
In February 2023 days before the presidential and national assembly elections, Ekpa was arrested in Finland where he resides after threatening that the elections would not be held in the South-East.
Ekpa was arrested by the police in his residence in the Lahti area of the country, a Finnish paper Helsingin Sanomat had reported.
The separatist repeatedly declared that there would be no elections in the Southeast region of the country and insisted on the observance of a sit-at-home every Monday in the area to protest the detention of the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu.
IPOB, however, distanced itself from the Finland-based Ekpa who was reportedly billed for an interview before his arrest.
He was later released and has since been very active on social media where he posts his pro-Biafran messages.
Ekpa has parted ways with Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of IPOB, over differences in their approach to achieving Biafran independence.
Kanu, a dual British and Nigerian citizen, has been held by Nigeria’s State Security Service (SSS) since June 2021 after being re-arrested in Kenya. He faces charges of treasonable felony in Abuja.
The Nigerian government has accused Finland and the European Union of allowing Ekpa to continue his activities, which they say are destabilising the Southeast region.
Valtonen was part of a delegation of Nordic Ministers including Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Norway, as well as Denmark who visited Nigeria to deepen trade ties between the countries.
The ministers noted that countering violent extremists in West Africa and achieving sustainable development goals is among the areas of special focus.
The Nordic ministers who are looking to crystallize relations on the African continent continue their two-day trip in Ghana.
