Olayiwola Matthew
A Finnish district court has fixed May 2025 for the prosecution to file charges against Simon Ekpa.
Last Thursday, the pro-Biafra agitator was arrested by law enforcement in the northern European nation.
He was subsequently sent to prison by the district court of Päijät-Häme for “spreading terrorist propaganda on social media”.
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.
Mikko Laaksonen, the senior detective superintendent at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Finland, said that investigations into Ekpa’s activities are ongoing.
Laaksonen said the next hearing on the remand can be held in the next two weeks if Finnish authorities or Ekpa seek re-evaluation from the court.
“Due to the ongoing investigation, no further details can be disclosed,” the superintendent said.
“The date for bringing up possible charges by the prosecution was set by the district court to May 2025.
“In a basic situation regarding the remand, the next possible hearing can be held no earlier than two weeks from the previous hearing, should the parties in question seek for the matter to be re-evaluated by the district court.”