On Tuesday, some social media users and blog sites made a post claiming that a Finnish court has approved the extradition of Simon Ekpa, the controversial Biafra separatist, from Finland to Nigeria.
The judgment was said to have been delivered at the Päijät-Häme district court in Lahti on April 18, 2025.
The post was widely shared on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and TikTok. The viral post was accompanied by an AI-generated picture showing Ekpa in an attire that appears to be from a prison uniform.
Popular blog sites like Instabloggja and Nigerian Stories published the post.
“Finnish Court Approves Simon Ekpa’s Extradition to Nigeria. Simon Ekpa, the controversial Finnish-Nigerian separatist agitator, will be extradited to Nigeria following a Finnish court ruling on April 18, 2025,” part of the post reads.
Reno Omokri, a former presidential aide, referenced the viral post on Ekpa in a comment published via X on Wednesday.
Daily Times, a national newspaper with about one million followers across social media platforms, also amplified the post about Ekpa’s extradition.
On Wednesday, the newspaper published the picture for its front page for Wednesday’s edition. The picture shows that the viral post on the purported approval of Ekpa’s extradition by a Finnish court was the cover story of the newspaper edition.
Other versions of the viral post have been archived here, here, here, and here
BACKGROUND
Ekpa was arrested in Finland on November 21, 2024, by law enforcement agents over alleged terrorism.
He was subsequently sent to prison by the district court of Päijät-Häme for “spreading terrorist propaganda on social media”.
Ekpa was said to have committed the crime in 2021 in Lahti municipality.
He is accused of instigating violence and inciting terror in the south-east of Nigeria through his social media pages.
Before his arrest, the controversial Biafra agitator was using his social media platforms, especially on X, to incite violence in the south-east region, especially against security agents and public institutions.
Nigerian authorities have been demanding the extradition of Ekpa, a dual citizen of Finland and Nigeria, for prosecution. However, the effort has not yielded the right result.
Last year, Mikko Laaksonen, the senior detective superintendent at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Finland, disclosed that a Finnish district court fixed May 2025 for the prosecution to file charges against Ekpa.
Subsequently, Laaksonen said Ekpa would remain in custody until his trial since the alleged offence was not bailable.
Recently, Kaarle Gummerus, Ekpa’s new lawyer, said Ekpa will appear in court in June 2025 to face trial.
VERIFICATION
CableCheck conducted online searches on the websites of Yle, a broadcasting organisation in Finland, and the Päijät Häme district court. There was no credible information suggesting that a Finnish court ordered the extradition of Ekpa to Nigeria.
Although Nigerian authorities have indicated their intention to seek Ekpa’s extradition, it remains unclear whether a formal request has been submitted to Finnish authorities or when extradition proceedings might begin in court.
When CableCheck contacted Gummerus via email, he said no court in Finland has taken such a decision.
“I can confirm to you that no decision has been taken in Finland. I have no information on the matter, so no such decision could have been taken,” the lawyer said.
“I wonder who is spreading such information.”
In an email sent to CableCheck, Laaksonen said Finnish NBI is unaware of any court order about the purported extradition of Ekpa.
“NBI has received similar information from different sources. However, NBI is not aware of any decisions regarding extradition that is related to the investigation in question,” Laaksonen said.
VERDICT
The claim that a Finnish court has ordered the extradition of Ekpa to Nigeria is false.
