Biafran agitator, Simon Ekpa
Ohanaeze chieftain, Isiguzoro, expresses joy over Simon Ekpa’s arrest
A chieftain of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, has hailed the arrest of Simon Ekpa, a self-proclaimed leader of the Biafra Republic Government in Exile, in Finland.
In a statement on Thursday, Isiguzoro said it was a significant step toward averting a second Biafra war and restoring peace in Nigeria’s South-East region.
Ekpa’s arrest, which occurred on charges of public incitement to commit terrorism, was seen as a relief to communities in the region, especially because Ekpa’s enforcement of the controversial Monday sit-at-home order and incitements of violence reportedly resulted in widespread economic losses and social unrest.
Indeed, Ohanaeze put the losses in the region because of the violence and sit-at-home directive at ₦22 trillion in investments, apart from the psychological and economic hardship under his directives.
Isiguzoro said Ekpa’s arrest would bring down tension in the region, particularly as his planned declaration of a sovereign Biafra nation on December 2, 2024, had raised fears of renewed conflict.
According to him, “The people of the Southeast can now heave a sigh of relief,” adding that Ekpa’s actions neither reflected the values nor the aspirations of the Igbo people.
The Ohanaeze chieftain urged the Finnish authorities to pursue decisive legal action against Ekpa, as they had said his activities are cloaked under the guise of agitation, which caused more harm than good.
Ekpa was arrested along with four others in Finland over charges of alleged terrorist activities.
Indications are that the Finish National Bureau of Investigation has requested that Ekpa be remanded on suspicion of public exhortation for an offence, committed with terrorist intent.
Specifically, a statement by Finish Police stated that Ekpa is charged along with the four other persons arrested on allegations of financing terrorism.
The police statement stated that “the requests for remand are related to a criminal investigation in which a dual citizen of Finland and Nigeria born in the 1980s is suspected of public exhortation to an offence, committed with terrorist intent.
The statement added that, “The police suspect that the man has furthered his efforts from Finland in such a way that has resulted in violence against civilians and public authorities and in other crimes in South-East Nigeria.
“He has carried out this activity by campaigning, for example, on his social media channels, says Head of Investigation, Detective Chief Inspector Otto Hiltunen of the National Bureau of Investigation.”
The Finnish police, which confirmed that five people were arrested, said they carried out international cooperation during the criminal investigation.
It is not the first time Ekpa has been arrested in Finland. 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 in Nigeria 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.
In August, Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Elina Valtonen, had said that the Finnish government was taking action against Ekpa.
She disclosed this in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, during a press conference she addressed alongside her Nordic counterparts.
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.