Simon Ekpa, a prominent Biafran separatist and IPOB leader, arrested in Finland two days prior to Nigeria’s general elections.
According to Tommi Reen, a criminal investigator at the Central Criminal Police in Finland, the National Bureau of Investigation conducted a police operation in a private residence in Lahti, which was connected to an ongoing preliminary investigation. Reen did not provide additional details on the matter. The Nigerian government had requested that Finland take action against Ekpa’s activities, and the Finnish ambassador met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Godfrey Onyeama, last week. Ekpa, a Finland-based lawyer and former athlete, has been vocal about his opposition to the country’s leadership and unity, advocating for the establishment of the Republic of Biafra. The IPOB leader’s speeches have been linked by security and intelligence services to kidnappings and murders in the South-East region of Nigeria.
