Lateef Fagbemi, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), has confirmed that the federal government has not yet initiated the extradition process for Simon Ekpa, the controversial Biafra agitator.
Fagbemi refuted claims that he recently stated the federal government had begun the extradition proceedings against Simon Ekpa.
A statement released by Kamarudeen Ogundele, the media aide to Fagbemi, explained that the AGF’s recent comments regarding the matter indicated that the government is awaiting the outcome of Ekpa’s trial in Finland.
The AGF stated that the Nigerian government is actively engaging with Finnish authorities to ensure that self acclaimed Biafra leader is held accountable for his actions.
“The attention of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has been drawn to media reports where he was erroneously reported to have said that the federal government had commenced an extradition process against Simon Ekpa,” the statement reads.
“The report is untrue and a complete departure from what the AGF said at the Stakeholders/Citizen Engagement Forum held on Thursday in Abuja. Ekpa, a leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), is currently standing trial in Finland for charges filed against him by the Finnish government.”
“To set the record straight, what the AGF said during the question and answer session was that the Nigerian government had been engaging with Finnish authorities to ensure that Simon Ekpa is held accountable for his actions.”
Currently, Ekpa is incarcerated in Finland. In November 2024, he was arrested by Finnish law enforcement and subsequently imprisoned by the district court of Päijät-Häme for “spreading terrorist propaganda on social media.”
The charges against him relate to actions taken in 2021 in the Lahti municipality, where he is accused of inciting violence and terror in south-eastern Nigeria through his social media channels.
Kaarle Gummerus, his new lawyer, has indicated that the trial of the agitator is expected to commence in June 2025. There have been numerous instances of misinformation regarding the supposed extradition of Ekpa from Finland, which have been fact-checked by various sources, including Cable Check.
