HELSINKI —
Police successful Finland said Thursday they had detained 5 suspects successful transportation with deadly unit successful southeastern Nigeria and were seeking a tribunal hold of the detentions.
The constabulary did not place the suspects, lone saying that a dual Finnish-Nigerian citizen, calved successful the 1980s, was nether transgression investigation.
However, Simon Ekpa, a Nigerian linked to the Biafran separatist movement, lives successful Lahti, wherever the Paijat-Hame District Court volition see a petition from the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation to support the suspects successful custody.
Ekpa is 1 of the leaders of the Indigenous People of Biafra separatist radical that is demanding the instauration of an autarkic Biafra authorities from the troubled southeast portion of Nigeria.
"The constabulary fishy that the antheral [under investigation] has furthered his efforts from Finland successful specified a mode that has resulted successful unit against civilians and nationalist authorities and successful different crimes successful South-East Nigeria," Detective Chief Inspector Otto Hiltunen said successful a statement.
The fishy "carried retired this enactment by campaigning, for example, connected his societal media channels," Hiltunen said.
The secessionist run successful southeastern Nigeria dates to the 1960s erstwhile the short-lived Republic of Biafra fought and mislaid a civilian warfare from 1967 to 1970 to go autarkic from the West African country. An estimated 1 cardinal radical died successful the conflict, galore from starvation.
Nigerian authorities person accused Ekpa of utilizing societal media to instigate unit by his followers successful Nigeria, galore of them young people.
Police successful Finland said the probe involves planetary cooperation.
Nigerian authorities person been contacted for comment.
For galore years Nigeria, Africa's astir populous nation, with astatine slightest 210 cardinal people, has been wracked by unit related to the activities of equipped extremist groups. Most recently, societal protests were held implicit a worsening cost-of-living situation and alleged atrocious governance.