Finnish authorities have provided insight into why Simon Ekpa, a prominent pro-Biafra agitator, cannot be granted bail in Finland.
According to Mikko Laaksonen, a Senior Detective Superintendent at Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation, the Finnish legal system does not permit bail for suspects accused of the kind of offenses Mr. Ekpa is accused of.
Ekpa was arrested on November 21, alongside four others, on suspicion of terrorist activities.
The Finnish police allege that Ekpa “has contributed to violence and crimes against civilians in South-eastern Nigeria.” The District Court of Päijät-Häme later ordered that Ekpa be imprisoned “with probable cause on suspicion of public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent”.
Ekpa is expected to face charges in May 2025, according to Finnish authorities.
He was indicted for financing terrorism alongside the four other suspects. The police suspect that Ekpa committed the crime of collecting money in violation of the Finnish Money Collection Act.
Ekpa allegedly committed the crimes between August 23, 2021, and November 18, 2024, in Lahti, a town in Finland ¹.
As a Nigerian-Finnish citizen, Ekpa heads Autopilot, a faction of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). IPOB is a group leading the agitation for an independent state of Biafra, which it wants carved out from the south-east and some parts of south-south Nigeria.
When asked about Ekpa’s bail, Laaksonen explained that the Finnish criminal procedure does not recognize bail procedure.
“Our procedure is based on, depending on the case, remand or travel ban as coercive measures for limiting freedom of movement for persons suspected of offenses to which such measures are applicable”.
This means that Ekpa will remain imprisoned until his trial in May 2025.
