A Nigerian-Finnish citizen, Simon Ekpa heads Autopilot, a faction of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) will remain behind the bars in Finland until May 2025 when he is scheduled to face trial at the District Court of Päijät-Häme in the North European country.
Mr Ekpa has been indicted for financing terrorism alongside the four other suspects.
A Senior Detective Superintendent at Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation, Mikko Laaksonen, told newsmen on Saturday that the Finnish legal system does not permit bail for suspects accused of the kind of offences Mr Ekpa is accused of suspicion of terrorist activities.
The Finnish police said Mr Ekpa “has contributed to violence and crimes against civilians in South-eastern Nigeria.”
The District Court of Päijät-Häme later ordered that the pro-Biafra agitator be imprisoned “with probable cause on suspicion of public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent.”
The police have a suspicion that the Biafra agitator committed the crime of collecting money in violation of the Finnish Money Collection Act.
The Finnish police said he allegedly committed the crimes between 23 August 2021 and 18 November 2024 in Lahti, a town in Finland.
IPOB is a group leading the agitation for an independent state of Biafra, which it wants carved out from the south-east and some parts of south-south Nigeria.
The separatist group has been linked to some deadly attacks in the two regions, although it has repeatedly denied its involvement in the attacks.
Meanwhile, hours after the arrest, the IPOB faction loyal to Mr Kanu disowned Mr Ekpa last Friday, explaining that the pro-Biafra agitator was never their member.
