Finland police arrest IPOB leader Simon Ekpa

Authorities in Finland have arrested Simon Ekpa, leader of the IPOB Autopilot faction of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Officers from the Finnish Central Criminal Police arrested Ekpa from his apartment in the Lahti region of Finland on Thursday morning, though details of his arrest were still sketchy at the time of filing this report.

Ekpa, a self-proclaimed follower of Nnamdi Kanu, IPOB leader, has used his social media accounts to issue numerous sit-at-home orders and incite violence in Nigeria’s Southeast.

He had recently declared that there would be no election in the Southeast zone, and in the lead up to the election gunmen suspected to be loyal to him have been attacking and killing political figures in the zone, as well as destroying offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission and police stations.

On Wednesday night for instance, gunmen killed the Labour Party senatorial candidate for Enugu East, Mr. Oyibo Chukwu, and five of his supporters.

The gunmen also on the same Wednesday, attacked the campaign convoy of Offorchukwu Egbo, a house of representatives candidate in the same zone, killing his driver.

Both incidents have been hailed by known supporters of Ekpa on social media.