Finland Foreign Minister confirms Simon Ekpa’s case is before Finnish Court

The Finnish Government has revealed that it is investigating the actions of the pro-Biafran agitator Simon Ekpa accused of involvement in secessionist operations with the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in the South-East of Nigeria.

Finland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Elina Valtonen, disclosed this at a press conference she co-hosted with her Nordic counterparts on Tuesday in Abuja. Valtonen is part of a delegation, comprising Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Denmark, visiting Nigeria to strengthen ties between Nigeria and the Nordic countries.

According to her, the Finnish courts are currently considering the case of Ekpa, whose actions were reported to them by the Nigerian authorities.

Ekpa, a proponent of the IPOB sit-at-home campaigns in Igboland, was reportedly arrested by the Finnish police in his residence in Finland in 2023, after threatening that the last elections would not be held in the South-East region of Nigeria. He was later released.

Despite the Indigenous People of Biafra, or IPOB, mainstream leadership stopping the exercise, Ekpa has been a major supporter of the sit-at-home commands in the South Eastern states.