Millions of youths in the South east are determined to sacrifice their lives in protest against the marginalization and militarization of the region by the Federal Government which raises the question; “Will the arrest of Simon Ekpa end insecurity in the once peaceful region?”
By Our Correspondent
The Federal Government’s intention to extradite Simon Ekpa, the self-acclaimed Prime Minister of Biafra Government in Exile (BRGIE) for trial in Nigeria, from his base in Finland, is seen by many opinion leaders as a futile effort to quell the heightening insecurity in the South east region. Many of these commentators have argued that there may be numerous youths in the South east who are ready to take over from Ekpa whenever he is arrested or detained.
Their argument stems from the fact that the marginalization of the South east region, as well as the use of the military and other security agencies to harass and intimate citizens of the zone, have resulted in the breeding of discontent agitators for a sovereign State of Biafra. They further pointed out that the attitude of the Nigerian central government has killed talents that would have been deployed by South easterners to help in developing the country.
Finnish-Nigerian separatist agitator, Ekpa and four other individuals were arrested in Finland recently over terror-related activities.
A local report in Finland said that Ekpa, the self-declared Prime Minister of BRGIE, was remanded in custody by the district court of Päijät-Häme on suspicion of public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent.
In a statement published on its website, the Central Criminal Police in Finland said it arrested five persons on suspicion of terrorist crimes.
The police said the main suspect was arrested “on suspicion of public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent”, while four others were arrested “for financing a terrorist crime”.
The police added: “Claims will be heard in Päijät-Häme district court today, November 21.”
The statement reads, “The detention demands are related to the preliminary investigation, in which a Finnish citizen of Nigerian background, born in the 1980s, is suspected of public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent.
“The police suspect that the man has promoted his efforts from Finland by means that have led to violence against civilians and authorities as well as other crimes in the region of South-Eastern Nigeria.”
The statement quoted the head of the investigation, Crime Commissioner Otto Hiltunen from the Central Crime Police as saying that “the man has carried out this activity, among other things, on his social media channels”.
“Four other persons are suspected of financing the aforementioned activity. All five suspects of the crime have been arrested during the beginning of the week.
“International cooperation has been carried out during the preliminary investigation,” the statement added. Ekpa has since denied allegations of sponsoring terrorism in Nigeria.
Appearing before a Finnish court in the Päijät-Häme district on November 21, Ekpa described his involvement with the Biafra movement as a “mere joke” and insisted he is primarily a content creator.
