Simon Ekpa
Simon Ekpa, the controversial Biafra separatist, has appointed a new legal representative ahead of his upcoming trial in Finland scheduled for June 2025.
BACKGROUND
In November 2024, Ekpa, a self-proclaimed leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), was arrested by law enforcement in Finland.
He was subsequently sent to prison by the district court of Päijät-Häme for “spreading terrorist propaganda on social media”.
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Ekpa was said to have committed the crime in 2021 in Lahti municipality.
He is accused of instigating violence and inciting terror in the south-east of Nigeria through his social media pages.
Nigerian authorities have been demanding the extradition of Ekpa, a dual citizen of Finland and Nigeria, for prosecution. However, the effort has not yielded the right result.
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Last year, Mikko Laaksonen, the senior detective superintendent at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Finland, disclosed that a Finnish district court fixed May 2025 for the prosecution to file charges against Ekpa.
Subsequently, Laaksonen said Ekpa will remain in custody until his trial since the alleged offence is not bailable.
In March, Nigeria sanctions committee (NSC) designated Ekpa and 16 entities as alleged terrorism financiers in the country.
The committee also ordered the freezing of the bank accounts connected to the alleged terrorism financiers.
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EKPA GETS NEW LAWYER
According to BBC Pidgin, Ekpa has changed his lawyer because the previous one had “retired from service”.
Kaarle Gummerus, Ekpa’s new lawyer, said he had received the pre-trial file of his client and he is “currently checking through”.
Gummerus added that Ekpa will appear in court in June 2025 to face trial.
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