When it comes to restoring peace to Nigeria’s southeast region, security heads have a consensus on one of the few things to be done in the immediate term: Simon Ekpa must be extradited!

From the comfort of his residence in Lahti, Finland, Ekpa coordinates a faction of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a group recently de-proscribed as a terrorist organisation.

Ekpa’s faction has been vocal about its agitation for the realisation of Biafra as an independent country. At the same time, the group’s Eastern Security Network (ESN) has claimed responsibility for killing civilians and state security agents, and it is in brutal confrontation against officers of the Nigerian Army and the Nigeria Police Force in particular, referring to them as terrorists.

READ ALSO: JUST IN: Simon Ekpa, IPOB Factional Leader, Arrested by Finnish Police

Daily, Ekpa flaunts the killing of security operatives and dehumanisation of people who go against his notorious sit-at-home directive on X where he has amassed over 176,000 followers and an army of bot-like supporters.

“The Biafra Defence Forces Owerri Command has recovered weapons from the terrorists after neutralising them in numbers. Withdrawal of all the Nigeria terrorists from Biafraland is the demand and we approach declaration in December. If you think you will continue to use force and terrorism tactics to force us to remain in the union, this will continue to be your faith (sic) in Biafraland,” he posted on July 29, admitting to the killing of police personnel along Onitsha-Owerri Road.

Ekpa also has a penchant for sharing misinformation.

Political and security agents have called for Ekpa’s extradition to Nigeria to be tried for his numerous offences in the country. However, not much seems to have been achieved. But why?

NO EXTRADITION TREATY

Extradition is the legal return of an offender from one country to another country where they have been accused or convicted of an offence to face the law. Criminals often flee from a country where they have committed criminal acts to another country in a bid to escape justice.

Countries therefore require a form of international cooperation to make criminals face the consequences of their actions. In this case, extradition treaties become important.

Nigeria has signed such treaties with some countries, the most recent of which was the extradition treaty between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). But Nigeria has no extradition treaty with Finland, where Ekpa lives as a citizen. On other fronts, the two countries maintain a bilateral relationship spanning over 60 years.

The Finnish authorities once told the Nigerian government that anything about Ekpa had to be done according to its laws because “a Finnish citizen” was involved.

“Information has been shared, and we hope for more of that in order for all authorities to do their job and that is to investigate really what is going on and to see how this fits into the legal framework of Finland because we are of course speaking of a Finnish citizen,” Leena Pylvanainen, then Finnish Ambassador to Nigeria, told Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in February 2023.

“Also, he’s a double citizen as far as I know of Nigeria and Finland, and he’s therefore as you rightly said, protected and safe and sound in his home in Finland. But we have to take his rights into consideration as well. So everything has to obviously be done according to Finnish legislation, which has very strong protections for freedom of speech.”

WHAT LAW?

The Finnish government would only grant extradition requests to countries it has such an agreement with. For other countries it has no treaty with, such a decision is discretionary and based on the severity of the offence.

READ ALSO: ‘You Can’t Have Two Armies in One Country’ — Nigerians Worry About Biafran Liberation Army’s Activities

In extraditing an individual, there are certain considerations according to an explanatory article on the Finnish Act on Extradition posted on its Ministry of Justice website.

Born of Nigerian heritage, Ekpa is a lawyer and member of National Coalition Party of Finland. In 2023, he became a city councillor in Lahti.

“The impediments to extradition involve, among other things, extradition of nationals, political offences, time limit for prosecution and the personal circumstances of the person,” the ministry wrote.

Even with regional bodies to which Finland belongs, it says it would only extradite its citizens to those countries under certain conditions. “Finland will not extradite own nationals other than under certain conditions to the Member States of the EU and other Nordic States,” the article states.

READ ALSO: Nigerians Ask Finnish Police to Send Simon Ekpa Back Home for Prosecution

A GREEN LIGHT?

In June, General Christopher Musa, the chief of defence staff, accused Finland of providing an enabling environment for Ekpa to perpetrate crimes.

“We have repeatedly complained about the issue of Simon Ekpa. He is in Finland and the Finnish Government is giving him all the support and he is doing what he is doing,” Musa said.

About two months after Musa’s comment, Elina Valtonen, Finland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, was in Nigeria and said the matter was already before a court.

“The case of Ekpa, whose activities were reported to the Finnish government by the Nigerian authorities, is now before Finnish courts,” Valtonen said during a press briefing.

While details of the said court case were not mentioned, it remains to be seen whether its final outcomes would lead to Ekpa’s extradition.
The post With No Extradition Treaty, Can Nigeria Get Simon Ekpa Who Coordinates Killers in South East? appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.