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The Finnish government has assured Nigeria that the legal process involving a controversial figure in the pro-Biafra struggle, Simon Ekpa, will be concluded soon.
Elina Valtonen, Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, gave the assurance during a press briefing she attended alongside her Nordic counterparts in Abuja on Tuesday, August 13, 2024.
The delegation comprised Nordic Ministers from Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and Norway, as well as Denmark who visited Nigeria to deepen trade ties among the countries.
The ministers pledged to counter violent extremists in West Africa and achieve development goals.
The Nordic emissaries engaged in high-level discussions with Nigeria's Foreign Affairs Minister, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, who confirmed that Ekpa's issue was a central topic in discussion with Valtonen.
“It was a priority. There is no way Nigeria would engage with Finland without raising the issue of Simon Ekpa vociferously,” Tuggar said.
Finland on Ekpa's case
Meanwhile, Valtonen disclosed that the case of Ekpa whose disruptive activities were reported to the Finnish government by the Nigerian government, is now before the Finnish court.
She reaffirmed Finland's commitment to working with Nigeria, stressing that the issue is more of a judicial matter than political.
“If you are referring to a specific person operating in Finland in a less than constructive manner, we have discussed this with the Nigerian authorities.
“Both our judicial systems are collaborating on this matter, and we hope it will soon be resolved.
“Both governments have stressed that the case is not a political issue but rather a judicial one, reaffirming their commitment to upholding the law as the proceedings unfold,” Valtonen stated.
Ekpa, a self-acclaimed disciple of Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), resides in Finland.
He leads a faction of the movement known as Autopilot and has been at the forefront of a push for the secession of the South-East and South-South from Nigeria to create a state of Biafra.
The self-proclaimed Biafra Prime Minister has been identified as a major instigator of violence in Nigeria, particularly through the enforcement of a controversial sit-at-home directive and attacks targeting security agents.