The claim that Finland released a Nigerian separatist from detention is false

The Finnish government arrested self-proclaimed Nigerian leader Simon Ekpa in November 2024 after he was arrested on suspicion of terrorism and inciting violence in Nigeria. Since then, dozens of Facebook accounts have claimed that Ekpa has been released from detention. But this is false; The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation told AFP Fact Check that Ekpa is still in custody awaiting trial. Prosecutors have until May 2025 to formally file charges against them.

“Breaking News: Simon Ekpa Freed From Jail In Finland, Awarded $100,000 In Compensation,” reads the headline of a Facebook post published on November 15, 2024.

Shared more than 200 times, the document says a Finnish court released Ekpa due to the Nigerian government's inability to “present evidence in court to substantiate their allegations against him”.

The suit also said that Ekpa was awarded $100,000 in damages for “arbitrary detention and invasion of his privacy”.

This post was published on a page called “Igbo Times Magazine” which has a history of sharing content critical of Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and his All Progressives Congress (APC).

This page has 41,000 followers and has been the subject of AFP Fact Check (here, here, here, and here).

The Igbo Times Magazine also operates a blog through which it spreads false information.

Other Facebook accounts also shared the claim (here, here and here).

However, the post is false.

I am still in prison

Ekpa, who is of Finnish-Nigerian descent, is the self-proclaimed leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a group fighting for independence in south-eastern Nigeria, where a bloody civil war was fought late last year. 1960s.

On November 21, 2024, Finnish authorities arrested Ekpa on suspicion of terrorist activities for his online freedom campaign that allegedly incited violence against people (archived here).

Ekpa – who claims to be leading the government of the Biafra Republic in exile – is being held in custody on charges of “inciting the public for a crime committed with the intention of terrorism,” the Paijat-Hame District Court told AFP Fact Check.

Since his arrest, it has not been reported that he has been released.

In response to AFP Fact Check's question about Ekpa's status, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) of Finland said the rebel leader is still in custody.

“The investigation is ongoing and will continue next year. The suspect is still in custody,” wrote NBI spokesperson Tessa Sarkka.

In another email seeking clarification on when Ekpa's trial will begin, NBI chief investigator Mikko Laaksonen said the deadline to indict the Nigerian separatist is May 2025.

“The start of the court proceedings has not been estimated yet. Most likely [they will start] in 2025. The deadline for [the] prosecution for indictment in May 2025 but may be postponed if the investigation is delayed for some reason,” Laaksonen wrote.