Finnish authorities have arrested pro-Biafran agitator Simon Ekpa on charges of alleged terrorist activities, including incitement to violence and financing terrorism. Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation announced that Ekpa, alongside four others, faces suspicion of public exhortation to commit offences with terrorist intent.

According to a statement released on Thursday, the other four suspects are accused of financing Ekpa’s activities, which allegedly led to violence against civilians and public authorities in Southeast Nigeria. Finnish authorities apprehended the individuals earlier this week and confirmed that the investigation involved international cooperation.

While the police statement did not name Ekpa explicitly, Finnish news outlet Helsingin Sanomat identified him as one of the suspects.

“The requests for remand are related to a criminal investigation in which a dual citizen of Finland and Nigeria, born in the 1980s, is suspected of public exhortation to an offence committed with terrorist intent,” said Detective Chief Inspector Otto Hiltunen of the National Bureau of Investigation.

Hiltunen added that Ekpa’s alleged activities were carried out primarily through his social media platforms, reportedly leading to violence in Southeast Nigeria.

This marks Ekpa’s second arrest in Finland. In February 2023, just before Nigeria’s presidential and national assembly elections, Finnish police detained Ekpa after he threatened to disrupt the elections in Southeast Nigeria. Ekpa, who resides in Lahti, Finland, had declared that no elections would be held in the region and enforced a weekly sit-at-home directive to protest the detention of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Although Ekpa claims leadership within the Biafran separatist movement, IPOB has repeatedly distanced itself from him and his methods, including the sit-at-home orders.

In August 2024, Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Elina Valtonen, announced during a press conference in Abuja that the Finnish government was taking legal action against Ekpa following complaints by the Nigerian government. Valtonen confirmed that the case was before Finnish courts.

Ekpa, who calls himself the “Biafra Prime Minister,” remains a divisive figure, known for his calls for civil disobedience and his controversial methods to further the separatist cause in Southeast Nigeria.