Simon Ekpa Arrested, Detained In Finland

Acclaimed leader of Eastern Security Network (ESN), alleged armed wing of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Simon Ekpa, has been reportedly arrested in Finland.

According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Pidgin Service, Simon Ekpa was remanded in detention by Finland authority for alleged terrorist activities.

BBC reported that the District Court of Päijät-Häme, in Finland, sent Ekpa, who is a Lahti-Nigerian municipal politician, ‘to prison on probable cause and on suspicion of publicly inciting people to commit crime with terrorist intent“.

The court reportedly said Simon Ekpa allegedly spread separatist propaganda on social media.

It reported that Ekpa allegedly committed the reported crime on 23 August 2021, in Lahti.

In addition to Ekpa, BBC reported Finnish National Bureau of Investigation also arrested four other men on suspicion of terrorist offences.

Recall that Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, had called on the federal government to expedite action for the repatriation of Ekpa.

Governor Mbah accused Ekpa, who claimed to replace IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, of disrupting the security of the South East region through his Monday sit-at-home order.

On his social media handle, Ekpa consistently described Nigeria as a ‘zoo’. According to him, he wants a separate country for the people of South East.

However, IPOB’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, in press statements, condemned Ekpa’s sit-at-home order. Emma Power also emphasized that Ekpa was not a replacement for Nnamdi Kanu.