The leadership of the Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB), has vehemently denied having any form of affiliation with Simon Ekpa, the self-acclaimed Prime Minister of Biafra Government in Exile who was arrested on Thursday alongside four others on terror-related activities by the Finnish authorities.
Mr Ekpa was remanded in prison by the district court of Päijät-Häme on suspicion of public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent.
Finland police in a statement said Ekpa was arrested “on suspicion of public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent”, while four others were taken into custody “for financing a terrorist crime”.
“The detention demands are related to the preliminary investigation, in which a Finnish citizen of Nigerian background, born in the 1980s, is suspected of public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent.
“The police suspect that the man has promoted his efforts from Finland by means that have led to violence against civilians and authorities as well as other crimes in the region of South-Eastern Nigeria”, the statement reads.
Also, the head of the investigation, Crime Commissioner Otto Hiltunen from the Central Crime Police said that “Ekpa has orchestrated this activity, among other things, on his social media channels”.
“Four other persons are suspected of financing the aforementioned activity. All five suspects of the crime have been arrested during the beginning of the week.
“International cooperation has been carried out during the preliminary investigation,” the statement added.
However, while reacting to the arrest of Ekpa, IPOB spokesman, Emma Powerful, maintained that the separatist movement had nothing to do with the Finland based agitator and his group, Autopilot.
He said, “We are not interested in his arrest. All we want is for the release of our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who has not committed any offence and who has been freed by the law courts. That is our concern.
“We have reiterated on several occasions that the Ekpa had no relationship with the IPOB from the formation to date and he had nothing in common with the Biafra struggle.
“For a long time, IPOB has maintained that there is nothing like autopilot in IPOB. More so, the criminal gang leader in Finland has no relationship with ESN from the formation of ESN to date or with IPOB. The authorities should stop linking IPOB with Ekpa and his group and IPOB is not interested in his arrest or whatever.
“All we want is for the Nigerian government to release our leader who has been detained for no known crime other than fighting for the liberation of his people”.