Simon Ekpa: A Timeline of Events Leading up to IPOB Factional Leader’s Detention
HumAngle examines the key events in Simon Ekpa's rise to prominence following the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu in 2021, leading up to his most recent arrest and detention.
Simon Ekpa, the factional leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), was arrested by the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Thursday, Nov. 21. The district court of Päijät-Häme subsequently imprisoned him for promoting violent separatist actions against civilians and authorities in southeastern Nigeria.
The Finland-based Biafra Nation agitator took over the leadership of one of IPOB’s faction, the Biafra Republic Government in Exile (BRGIE), also known as ‘Autopilot’, following the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu, IPOB’s founder, by the Nigerian government in 2021.
Despite being disowned by Kanu, Ekpa continued to amplify the group’s activities by sharing a series of misleading tweets and forcing a sit-at-home curfew on people in Nigeria’s South East on Mondays and any other specified period, resulting in numerous deaths and clashes with security forces.
Under his leadership, many security agents and stations have been frequently targets, escalating the loss of lives and property.
The arrest came days before the planned unveiling of the map for a proposed 40 “United States of Biafra” and the official declaration of Biafra’s independence slated for Dec. 2. The Nigerian Defence Headquarters (DHQ) described Ekpa’s arrest as a key victory in the anti-terror war.
Meanwhile, IPOB spokesperson Emma Powerful distanced the group from Ekpa’s actions and his arrest.
HumAngle traces the key events leading to Ekpa’s detention:
July 9, 2021: Ekpa announced via his official Facebook page that Kanu has appointed him to take over as the lead broadcaster on Radio Biafra.
July 22, 2021: He was reportedly disengaged over his refusal to sign Radio Biafra’s rules of engagement. Nevertheless, he continued to magnify the activities of the secessionist group through his social media platforms.
Sept. 13, 2021: Ekpa denounced Nigeria and promised to return the medal he won for the country at the 2003 African Junior Athletics Championships.
Oct. 16, 2021: Ekpa made a false post on X, claiming the customs officer in a viral video was a “repentant Boko Haram member”.
Oct. 30, 2021: He spread another falsehood, asserting that Abba Kyari, the suspended deputy commissioner of police, has been reinstated by the Nigeria Police Force following the indictment of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He claimed that Kyari had visited a shrine in the Benin Republic and Togo for subsequent mobilisation for an election in Nigeria.
April 19, 2022: IPOB accused Ekpa of illegal activities, including unlawful enforcement of a sit-at-home curfew in the Southeastern region of Nigeria.
May 28, 2022: Kanu’s family warned Ekpa to cease using Kanu’s name or image in his broadcasts or fundraising activities.
Aug. 2, 2022: Ekpa declared the full activation of the Biafra Government In Exile (BGIE) with IPOB-Autopilot.
Sept. 8, 2022: Ekpa said the British government was using the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, to distract those agitating for Biafra, adding that nobody in Southeast should participate in the 2023 general elections.
Dec. 15, 2022: Ekpa, in a YouTube video, said that the 2023 elections will not be held in the southeastern region, adding that it is a “sacrifice” that the people of Biafra have to make. He added that “ending Nigeria” is a task that must be done by 2023.
Jan. 22, 2023: He threatened Peter Obi’s supporters, saying the former Anambra governor did not “represent Biafran interest” and should not “distort the Biafra dream”. He spoke during a now-deleted live broadcast with over 2,000 participants. He also declared a sit-at-home from Feb. 23 to 28, apparently to stop the conduct of the 2023 general elections in the region.
Feb. 15, 2023: Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Finnish Ambassador to Nigeria, Leena Pylvanainen, over threats by Ekpa to stop the 2023 general election in Nigeria’s south-east.
Feb. 17, 2023: The Embassy of Finland said it condemned any attack targeted at the election in Nigeria by Ekpa, who threatened to use violence on anyone in the south-east who participated in the election.
Feb. 23, 2023: Finnish police arrested and briefly detained Ekpa on suspicion of fundraising fraud. Interestingly, HumAngle, in a recent investigation, revealed how he had raised thousands of dollars for his movement from supporters worldwide, including in the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Germany, Spain, Israel, and South Africa. These funds were solicited through various strategies, such as weekly Zoom fundraising campaigns broadcast live on platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and X.
April 2023: Ekpa declared himself as the prime minister of the Biafra Republic Government in Exile (BRGIE)
Jun. 14, 2023: He imposed a week-long sit-at-home campaign from 3–10 July, which was enforced by his followers with 70% compliance.
July 5, 2023: He threatened to halt oil exploitation in southeastern Nigeria unless Kanu was released.
July 24, 2o23: IPOB founder Kanu, in a letter written from detention, called for an end to the sit-at-home practice. Ekpa rejected the plea, calling it an insult to Biafra Nation agitators.
July 30, 2023: He exonerated Kanu from the activities of the Biafra agitations, explaining that Kanu wasn’t responsible for the actions taken to free him.
Aug. 6, 2023: In a bid to reinforce Kanu’s directive, IPOB’s spokesperson, Emma Powerful, said Mondays would now be known as economic empowerment days in the South East, but Ekpa maintained that the sit-at-home curfew has not been suspended.
Oct. 19, 2023: Ekpa and cabinet members of BRGIE hosted a three-day convention in Helsinki, Finland, where a possible Biafran referendum was discussed with participants and attendants from Biafra.
Dec. 11, 2023: He declared another week-long sit-at-home in the southeast over the continuous detention of Nnamdi Kanu.
Feb. 1, 2024: The Biafra Republic Government in Exile (BRGIE) launched a self-referendum to actualise the age-long agitated sovereign nation called Biafra.
March 23, 2024: The DHQ declared Ekpa and more than 90 others ‘wanted’ for ‘terrorism, kidnapping and other crimes’.
May 29, 2024: Ekpa asked the Nigerian government to stop engaging in a military battle against the Biafra Liberation Army (BLA), urging the authorities to engage the Finnish government to mediate in the conflict between ‘Biafra soldiers’ and the Nigerian army.
Jun. 13, 2024: The Chief of Defence Staff, Christopher Musa, accused the Finnish government and the European Union of shielding Ekpa as he continued to incite violence in Nigeria’s south-east through social media.
July 12, 2024: Ekpa claimed that the United States of America government would soon issue favourable statements backing Biafra liberation.
July 25, 2024: Ekpa shared misleading images to discredit the country’s military forces on his X handle. He also repeatedly shared pictures of security personnel killed in the southeastern region of Nigeria by armed separatists, often labelling state forces as “terrorists”.
July 29, 2024: BLA fighters killed four police officers at a security checkpoint along Owerri-Onitsha road in Imo state. They also killed a POS merchant and shot at civilians in the area. Ekpa later shared a 90-second video recorded by the assailants, showing the assault rifles they seized from their victims.
Aug. 20, 2024: He unveiled the map of a proposed 40 “United States of Biafra” and announced Dec. 2, 2024, as the date for its official presentation and issuance of a declaration of independence. However, the Nigeria DHQ reacted, saying it engaged with the European Union to extradite Ekpa from Finland.
Aug. 24, 2024: Ekpa threatened a 30-day lockdown of Nigerian government institutions in the southeastern region over the continued detention of Kanu.
Nov. 21, 2024: Ekpa was arrested by the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and subsequently imprisoned by the district court of Päijät-Häme. Nigeria authorities have since begun moves to extradite him to face terrorism charges possibly.
Simon Ekpa, the factional leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), was arrested by Finland's National Bureau of Investigation in November 2024 for promoting violent separatism in southeastern Nigeria.
Ekpa led a faction known as the Biafra Republic Government in Exile after the arrest of IPOB founder Nnamdi Kanu, despite Kanu's disapproval. Throughout his leadership, Ekpa enforced sit-at-home orders, shared misleading information, and escalated attacks on security forces.
Several significant events marked Ekpa's activism. Notably, in July 2023, he threatened to stop oil exploitation unless Kanu was released. Ekpa declared a self-referendum in February 2024 and in August 2024, he introduced a 40-state Biafra map, announcing plans for a Biafra declaration of independence.
His arrest is viewed as a notable gain in the ongoing counter-terrorism efforts by Nigerian authorities, who are now seeking his extradition.
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