By Pascal Ibe

The apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, still believes that the Finnish Court has approved the extradition of Biafran agitator Simon Ekpa to Nigeria.

This is as no piece of evidence supports this claim to be true.

According to a publication by the Leadership online, a statement signed by the Deputy President General, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, and National Spokesman, Chief Thompson Ohia, Ohanaeze Ndigbo commended the Federal Government, particularly the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa; the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and the Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Matawalle, for their tireless efforts in combating criminality and insecurity in the region.

The organisation noted that Ekpa’s orchestrated campaign of terror, including the enforcement of an illegal “sit-at-home” directive and violent incursions against innocent lives in South-East, has caused immense harm to the communities and led to significant socio-economic disintegration.

Ohanaeze Ndigbo emphasised that Ekpa’s prosecution would serve as a deterrence to individuals or groups engaged in unauthorised armed conflicts or terrorism within the South-East.

Read the full report here and here (archived).

The claim

Earlier this week, the Facebook page of the Nigerian Daily Times published a story stating that the Finnish court has approved the extradition of Simon Ekpa to Nigeria.

Daily Times claimed that Finnish authorities have approved the extradition of Simon Ekpa, the controversial Finnish-Nigerian separatist agitator, to Nigeria. The transfer is scheduled for July 15, 2025, following the ruling of the Päijät-Häme District Court in Lahti on April 18, 2025.

Insufficient evidence

However, findings by FACTWATCH Nigeria showed no reputable news organization in Nigeria or Finland confirmed this to be true.

In a report by BBC pidgin recently, Ekpa was formerly represented by lawyer Ilkka Kopra, who confirmed that the Finnish court decided to detain him.

However, Kopra has since retired, and Ekpa is now represented by a new attorney, Kaarle Gummerus.

Gummerus confirmed receipt of the pre-trial case file and stated that the trial is scheduled for June, as reported by BBC pidgin.

“We reached out to Simon Ekpa’s new lawyer, Kaarle Gummerus, to find out the current status of the case and when Ekpa will be taken to court for trial.

The lawyer confirmed that he has received the pre-trial file of the case and they will go through it to decide what to do next.

“However, when we asked him when Simon Ekpa will appear in court, he said the case will go to court in June 2025,” BBC pidgin reported.

Similarly, Nigeria and Finland do not have a specific bilateral extradition treaty. Extradition, the formal process by which one state surrenders an individual to another state for prosecution or punishment of a crime, is often governed by such agreements.

Read the full check here