Finnish authorities have charged the self-acclaimed Prime Minister of Biafra Government In Exile, Mr. Simon Ekpa, with terrorism offences ahead of his trial.
The deputy prosecutor general in Finland charged Ekpa with public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent and participation in a terrorist group, Yle, a Finnish Newspaper reports.
The prosecutors said that Ekpa committed the offence in Lahti, a city in southern Finland, between 2021 and 2024.
Recall that Ekpa was arrested and detained by Finnish police in November 2024.
According to the prosecution authority, Ekpa who has remained in custody, also denied all charges.
The prosecution alleges that Ekpa’s online activities incited acts of violence in Nigeria under the guise of pro-Biafra agitation.
The charges stem from his role in a faction of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
IPOB has long pushed for the secession of the Igbo-dominated southeastern region of Nigeria, which was the centre of a brutal war from 1967 to 1970, resulting in over a million deaths.
In addition to his activities related to Biafra, Ekpa has served in local politics in Finland.
He previously represented the conservative National Coalition Party in Lahti and sat on a municipal public transport committee.
Finnish authorities have also investigated potential financial support for Ekpa’s activities.
Following his arrest in 2024, police requested the detention of four individuals suspected of financing his operations, but were later released.
However, on Friday, the prosecution authority confirmed that the charges against those individuals had been dropped due to insufficient evidence.
Ekpa has also been a source of controversy for spreading misinformation online.
The AFP said it has conducted multiple fact-checks debunking false claims made by Ekpa in recent years, many of which have circulated widely among his followers and the broader pro-Biafra diaspora.
Meanwhile, the case has drawn widespread attention both in Finland and internationally, particularly in Nigeria, where Ekpa is a polarising figure, hailed by some as a freedom fighter and condemned by others as a provocateur fueling unrest.
President Bola Tinubu’s administration has announced that it is working with the Finnish government for Ekpa’s extradition.
