The Bola Tinubu-led Nigerian government has insisted the arrest of Simon Ekpa, a Nigerian-Finnish citizen, was as a result of the ‘diplomatic pressure’ it mounted on Finland.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a brief statement on Friday said that Simon Ekpa was arrested as a result of Nigeria’s “diplomatic pressure” on the Finnish government.
The statement reads, “The ministry wishes to confirm the arrest of Ekpa, a Nigerian-Finnish citizen and prominent leader of IPOB, by Finnish authorities on Thursday, November 21.
“He was charged with inciting terrorism and promoting violence. The Finnish District Court of Päijät-Häme ruled to detain him on probable cause for publicly inciting crimes with terrorist intent.
READ MORE:BREAKING: Simon Ekpa, Four Others Arrested in Finland Over Terrorism, Violence in Nigeria
“The Finnish authorities alleged that Ekpa used social media platforms to spread separatist propaganda, incite violence and encourage illegal actions, which had caused significant disruptions in the South-East of Nigeria.
“Finnish investigators had also linked him to incidents of violence in Nigeria, which were believed to have been fuelled by his online activities.
“The arrest of Ekpa follows sustained diplomatic pressure by the Nigerian government on Finland, to take action against his activities, linked to violence and instability in the South-East of Nigeria,” the statement concluded.
Recall that on Thursday Finland district court in Lahti ordered the arrest of Simon Ekpa on probable cause for public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent in Nigeria.
Ekpa was accused of using social media platforms to spread separatist propaganda linked to IPOB, a group advocating for the secession of southeastern Nigeria.
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