President Bola Tinubu’s government has hailed the arrest and prosecution of IPOB leader Simon Ekpa in Finland on Thursday.

Finland’s head of investigation, crime commissioner Otto Hiltunen of the Central Criminal Police, had earlier confirmed that Mr Ekpa had been arrested with four others.

According to Mr Hiltunen, the arrest followed an order by a district court to imprison him over alleged “public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent” and promoting violence in the South-East.

Mr Tinubu’s government said Mr Ekpa’s apprehension came after “sustained diplomatic pressure,” according to a statement on Friday by Nigeria’s foreign affairs ministry.

“The arrest of Mr Simon Njoku Ekpa followed sustained diplomatic pressure by the Nigerian government on Finland to take action against his activities, which were linked to violence and instability in the South-East of Nigeria. The request for action featured during high-level engagements between countries,” said the federal government.

The ministry affirmed that Mr Ekpa’s arrest is significant in addressing the activities of IPOB in Nigeria and neutralising the influence of transnational actors and their impact on national security. 

IPOB is agitating for a secession of the South-East from Nigeria.

Mr Ekpa was charged with terrorism and promoting violence, with the Finnish District Court of Päijät-Häme ruling to detain him on probable cause for publicly inciting crimes with terrorist intent.

The Finnish authorities alleged that Mr Ekpa used social media platforms to spread separatist propaganda, incite violence and encourage illegal actions, which had caused significant disruptions in Nigeria’s South-East.

Finnish investigators have also linked Mr Ekpa to incidents of violence in Nigeria, which were believed to have been fuelled by the IPOB chief’s online activities.

Mr Tinubu’s administration stated the Finnish authorities took Mr Ekpa into custody after constant engagement and pressure over his online activities inciting violence in the South-East.