Nigerians Jubilate as Finnish Government Arrest Simon Ekpa

After years of spreading violent propaganda on social media, Simon Ekpa, the factional leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has been arrested by the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and was on Thursday sent to prison by the Päijät-Häme District Court for “spreading terrorist propaganda on social media.”

According to the BBC, Simon Ekpa, who currently represents Finland’s National Coalition Party (NCP) on Lahti’s public transport committee, allegedly committed the offense in August 2021. Ekpa is accused of using his leadership role in the proscribed separatist movement to incite violence against both civilians and authorities in southeastern Nigeria. 

The Finland-born Nigerian gained prominence in July 2021 following the Nigerian government’s arrest of Nnamdi Kanu, the founder of IPOB. Initially, Ekpa served as the lead broadcaster for RadioBiafra but left just two weeks later after allegedly refusing to sign the station’s rules of engagement.

He then established a provocative online platform called Enter Biafra Freedom Awareness Channels, using it to incite violence through social media, and building a following of numbskulled followers. Ekpa also formed different groups whose members have been linked to an increase in terrorist activities in southeastern Nigeria.  

Why Are Nigerians Happy Over His Arrest?

Over the past three years, Ekpa has led a campaign to force Nigeria’s division into separate nations. He has posted misleading tweets and imposed a sit-at-home curfew on residents of southeast Nigeria, particularly on Mondays, sabotaging the economic life wire of an area prominent for trade, infringing on the right to movement, killing those who violate the sit-at-home orders and aggravating the number of out-of-school children. Many security agents have also been targeted and killed. 

Although the sit-at-home began protesting Kanu’s detention by the Nigerian government, the  IPOB  leader officially ended the curfew in a letter from prison in July 2023. Despite this, Ekpa continued the practice and ignored pleas from Kanu’s family to stop using his name and image to perpetuate domestic terrorism. In 2023, Ekpa rebranded himself as the ‘Prime Minister’ of the Biafra Republic Government in Exile (BRGIE), raising funds through online campaigns in various countries, including the US, UK, and South Africa.

The activities of IPOB factions have turned the southeastern region—once one of the safest in Nigeria—into a volatile and dangerous area, making it unsafe for many citizens.

What’s Next? 

With Ekpa now in Finnish custody, many Nigerians have come on social media to celebrate his arrest as a victory in the battle against violence and insecurity.  Nigerians from various cities, home and abroad, took to social media to thank Finnish authorities, hoping that his conviction would help restore peace in the embattled region. “We have suffered too much under this man and his orders,” Obinna, a trader in Onitsha, a city in Southeast Nigeria has lost customers to traders in neighboring  Asaba because of Ekpa’s needless sit-at-home orders. “His arrest is a victory for peace in the southeast and a step toward ending the bloodshed,” added Adanne, a teacher in Anambra who had been forced to stay home during the Monday curfews.

Ekpa’s arrest has sparked intense debate about its impact on IPOB’s agitation. While some see it as a significant blow to the separatist movement, others believe it will not halt the push for secession.

Reacting to this on X, Inibehe Effiong, a lawyer and human rights activist, tweeted, saying, “He (Simon Ekpa) should give an account of his actions. You cannot stay in a foreign country and sponsor or instigate terrorism and killings in Nigeria. I wonder why it took so long for him to be taken into custody. Let’s hope that the Finnish government has done due diligence.”

Nigerians are optimistic that this recent development will diminish the influence of IPOB and reduce its activities in the Southeast. The Nigerian Defense Headquarters has announced it’s making moves to extradite Ekpa to Nigeria, and the IPOB has since denied his place in the organization.