Self acclaimed Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa, has been charged with terrorism offences by the Finnish authorities.
Ekpa heads a faction of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
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 media outlet, reported that the charges were filed on Friday morning.
According to the media, the case will be heard in the Päijät-Häme District Court in Lahti.
The prosecutor said the charges are linked to Mr Ekpa’s secessionist activities in Nigeria’s south-east, often referred to as “Biafra land.”
The Biafra agitator is suspected of spreading separatist propaganda from his home in Lahti.
The Finnish police have been investigating the case alongside the Nigerian government.
Ekpa, 40, was arrested with four others on 21 November 2024 on suspicion of terrorist activities.
The other four suspects have been released.
The Finnish police said Ekpa “has contributed to violence and crimes against civilians in South-eastern Nigeria.”
The District Court of Päijät-Häme later ordered that the pro-Biafra agitator be imprisoned “with probable cause on suspicion of public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent.”
IPOB is a group leading agitation for an independent state of Biafra, which it wants carved out from the south-east and some parts of south-south Nigeria.
The Nation
