{"id":39757,"date":"2024-12-23T08:29:44","date_gmt":"2024-12-23T13:29:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/claim-that-finland-released-nigerian-separatist-from-detention-is-false\/23\/12\/2024\/"},"modified":"2024-12-23T08:29:44","modified_gmt":"2024-12-23T13:29:44","slug":"claim-that-finland-released-nigerian-separatist-from-detention-is-false","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/claim-that-finland-released-nigerian-separatist-from-detention-is-false\/23\/12\/2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Claim that Finland released Nigerian separatist from detention is false"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<h3 class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg font-bold\">The Finnish government jailed Nigerian self-proclaimed separatist leader Simon Ekpa in November 2024 after he was arrested for suspected terrorist activities and incitement of violence in Nigeria. Since then, scores of accounts on Facebook have claimed 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 formalise charges against him.<\/h3>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">\u201cBreaking News: Simon Ekpa Released from Detention in Finland, Awarded $100,000 in Compensation,\u201d reads the heading of <a href=\"https:\/\/mvau.lt\/media\/680eef7b-2238-43df-a0c1-1eb22ce8d323\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:a Facebook post;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">a Facebook post<\/a> published on November 15, 2024.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative col-body mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-[4] size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p><span>Screenshot showing the false post, taken December 20, 2024<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">Shared more than 200 times, the post claims that a Finnish court released Ekpa due to the Nigerian government\u2019s inability \u201cto present evidence in court to substantiate their allegations against him\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">The claim also stated that Ekpa was awarded $100,000 in compensation for \u201cunwarranted arrest and invasion of his privacy\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">The post was published on a page called \u201cIgbo Times Magazine\u201d which has a history of sharing content critical of Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and his party All Progressives Congress (APC).<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">The page has 41,000 followers and has been the subject of past debunks by AFP Fact Check (<a href=\"https:\/\/factcheck.afp.com\/doc.afp.com.336V6EV\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:here;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">here<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/factcheck.afp.com\/doc.afp.com.32GC6QZ\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:here;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">here<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/factcheck.afp.com\/doc.afp.com.32HV4AB\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:here,;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">here,<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/factcheck.afp.com\/doc.afp.com.34KD6AG\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:here;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">here<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">Igbo Times Magazine also operates a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/YQ7Q-8KEL\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:blog;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">blog<\/a> through which it regularly spreads misinformation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">Other accounts on Facebook also shared the claim (<a href=\"https:\/\/mvau.lt\/media\/8f323cf5-e138-4771-a76c-90cc245af916\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:here;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">here<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/mvau.lt\/media\/970b89dd-4d80-449d-a488-55fabbbf9ec3\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:here;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">here<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/mvau.lt\/media\/8b37a0c9-027f-4f8f-989c-65868301a7a1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:here;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">here<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">However, the posts are false.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"col-body mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">Still behind bars<\/h2>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">Ekpa, a dual Finnish-Nigerian national, is a self-proclaimed leader of a faction of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a group that is pushing for the independence of Nigeria\u2019s southeast, where a bloody civil war was fought in the late 1960s.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">On November 21, 2024, Finnish authorities <a href=\"https:\/\/www.barrons.com\/news\/finland-arrests-nigerian-separatist-in-online-terror-probe-75445cb7\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:detained;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">detained<\/a> Ekpa on suspicion of terrorism activities for his online independence campaign that allegedly incited violence against civilians (archived <a href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/LA3Z-94RL\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:here;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">here<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">Ekpa \u2014 who claims to lead the nominal Biafra Republic\u2019s government in exile \u2014 was remanded in custody on suspicion of \u201cpublic exhortation to an offence committed with a terrorist intent,\u201d the Paijat-Hame District Court told AFP Fact Check.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">Since his arrest, there have been no reports about him being released.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">In a response to an AFP Fact Check query about Ekpa\u2019s status, Finland\u2019s National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said the secessionist leader is still in custody.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">\u201cThe investigation is still ongoing and will continue next year. The suspect is still in custody,\u201d wrote NBI\u2019s spokeswoman Tessa Sarkka.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">In another email seeking clarification on when Ekpa\u2019s trial would commence, NBI\u2019s senior detective Mikko Laaksonen said the deadline to indict the Nigerian secessionist is May 2025. <\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0\">\u201cThe beginning of court proceedings cannot yet be estimated. Most likely [they will start] in 2025. The deadline for [the] prosecution to press charges is in May 2025 but it is also possible to postpone this if the investigation is delayed for some reason,\u201d Laaksonen wrote. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/claim-finland-released-nigerian-separatist-125013130.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Finnish government jailed Nigerian self-proclaimed separatist leader Simon Ekpa in November 2024 after he was arrested for suspected terrorist activities and<br \/><button class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/claim-that-finland-released-nigerian-separatist-from-detention-is-false\/23\/12\/2024\/\">Read More &rsaquo;<\/a><\/button><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39757"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}