Finnish officials have arrested the controversial Biafra agitator Simon Ekpa for his threats to use violence to disturb or stop the 2023 elections in southeast Nigeria. The Nigerian-Finnish lawyer had been arrested from his home in Lahti, Finland.
Available reports suggest that he had been taken by the police to their facility for further questioning. An Igbo community member also confirmed the news about the arrest of Simon Ekpa in Finland. According to his statement, the arrest was for the sit at home in Southeast Nigeria.
Leena Pylvanaien, who serves as the Finnish Ambassador to Nigeria, officially confirmed the news. According to her statement, Simon Ekpa was arrested from his home in Lahti and was taken by the police to their facility for questioning.
The Finnish police usually don’t reveal details about the person they arrested. But the photograph of Simon Ekpa being taken from his home by the police had been circulating on popular social media platforms.
The presidential and National Assembly elections are supposed to take place on February 25, 2030. Simon Ekpa, who is currently a factional leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Finland, declared a sit-at-home from February 23 to February 28, aiming to disrupt the election.
Ekpa thinks stopping the election is the best way to make sure Igbo-speaking Nigerian citizens in south and south-east Nigeria get the sovereign state of Biafra.
If you are interested to find out more about the Biafra agitator, keep on reading to know everything about Simon Ekpa.
Who Is Simon Ekpa?
Simon Ekpa is a Nigerian-Finnish lawyer and a political activist. He is currently famous for being a factional leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra. Born on March 21, 1985, in Ohaukwu, Ebonyi state, Simon Ekpa is also a former athlete.
Even though he was born in Nigeria, he had been living in Lahti, Finland since 2007. Being a long-time resident of Finland, he was also an active participant in Finnish politics. He is a member of the National Coalition Party of Finland and has also contested in the 2022 Finnish county elections.
Before getting actively involved in politics, Simon Ekpa was an athlete and had competed in the 2003 African Junior Athletics Championship and won a silver medal in the 100 meters.
Simon Ekpa – Association With Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB)
Simon Ekpa rose to prominence after his association with IPOB. Ekpa gained a special status among the people after he was appointed as the lead broadcaster for Radio Biafra after the imprisonment of Nnamdi Kanu.
Simon Ekpa continued to enjoy his status by raising his voice for the people and strongly advocating for Biafra’s independence. The connection Simonj Ekpa has with Finland comes from his marriage.
Available reports suggest that Ekpa got married to a Finnish woman and due to the nature of his position and political circumstances, details about his wife are not available as of now.
Simon Ekpa continued to enjoy his status and prominence through live broadcasting after becoming the chief broadcaster of Radio Biafra.
But after being put in position, some of the ways in which Ekpa handled a few issues were not in a way which was allowed by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. As he was not following the instructions that he was supposed to, Ekpa was removed from the position later.
Even though Simon Ekpa lost his position as the chief broadcaster of Radio Biafra, he did not stop expressing himself. Ekpa has found new ways to express his thoughts and currently he owns a YouTube channel named Enter Biafra Liver.
Simon Ekpa – Education
While it is clear that he was born in Nigeria and spent his early years in the country, not much information is available about his school days.
Ekpa has often stated that he holds a law degree from Aberystwyth University, which is one of the most prestigious universities in the United Kingdom.
The Nation Of Biafra And IPOB
While there is no doubt that Simon Ekpa is one of the strongest advocates of Biafra, the movement for the nation did not start with Ekpa. Officially known as the Republic of Biafra, the nation declared independence from Nigeria and existed as an independent nation from 1967 to 1970.
The area predominantly consisted of the Igbo-populated eastern region of Nigeria.
The nation was officially established by Odumegwu Ojukwu and was formed under his presidency. Shortly after the secession of Biafra, the government of Nigeria decided to invade the country, which gave rise to the Nigerian civil war.
Countries like Gabon, Haiti, Tanzania, Zambia, and Ivory Coast officially recognized the nation of Biafra, and countries like France, Spain, Vatican City, Portugal, Norway, South Africa, and Israel provided Biafra with diplomatic or military support even though they did not officially recognize the nation.
The war between the Nigerian government and Biafra is recorded to be very effective. The total blockade of the region by the Nigerian government led to the death of almost two million Biafrans from starvation.
The president of Biafra, colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu fled the country to Ivory Coast and the surrender of the country was facilitated by Major General Philip Effiong who served as the vice president and general chief of staff of the Biafran government.
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) is a separatist group whose prime aim is to restore the nation of Biafra. Even though the activities of the group were considerably dormant for years, they got active recently in 2021 and they had been leading a low-level guerilla fight against the Nigerian government in the southeastern region of Nigeria.
The organization was formed in 2012 by Nnamdi Kanu and Uche Mefor. The organization was deemed a terrorist group by the Nigerian Government.
The IPOB has severely criticized the Nigerian government for many reasons like their ethnic marginalization, inequitable distribution of resources, poor investments, and many such other reasons which have led to the downfall of Biafra and its people.
The organization rose to prominence over the years and currently, IPOB is the largest Biafran independence organization in terms of the number of members.
