FG Confirms Arrest of Prominent IPOB Leader, Simon Ekpa
He was arr£sted along with four other people alleged to be his partners.
Earlier this week, the Finnish government arr£sted one Simon Ekpa for alleged te*ror!sm.
He was arr£sted along with four other people alleged to be his partners.
The Federal Government confirmed the arr£st of the prominent IPOB leader today, emphasizing how the Nigerian government diplomatically encouraged the Finnish government to arr£st Simon Ekpa, the prominent IPOB leader.
In a statement released on friday 22nd of November, the FG said, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to confirm the arr£st of Mr. Simon Njoku Ekpa, a Nigerian-Finnish citizen and prominent IPOB leader, by Finnish authorities on Thursday, 21 November 2024.
He was charged with inciting te*rorism and promoting v!olence. The Finnish District Court of Päijät-Häme ruled to detain him on probable cause for publicly inciting cr!mes with te*rorist intent.
The Finnish authorities alleged that the prominent IPOB leader, Simon Ekpa, used social media platforms to spread sep@ratist prop@ganda, incite v!olence and encourage iIlegal actions, which had caused significant disruptions in the South-East of Nigeria.
Finnish investigators had also linked him to incidents of v!olence in Nigeria, which were believed to have been fueled by his online activities.
The arr£st of Mr. Simon Njoku Ekpa follows sustained diplomatic pressure by the Nigerian government on Finland, to take action against his activities, which were linked to v!olence and instability in the South-East of Nigeria.
The request for action featured during high-level engagements between countries.
The Federal Government further added that, “The Ministry wishes to affirm that the arr£st of Mr. Simon Ekpa, is a significant development in addressing the activities of IPOB, and also neutralizing the influence of transnational actors and their impact on our national security”.
