Simon Ekpa, a Nigerian resident of Lahti, was apprehended by police.
The Nigerian government has asked Finland on several occasions to intervene and prevent Ekpa's activities.
In an interview with Yle, Ekpa claimed to be the leader of a Lahti-based rebel group seeking to establish an independent state of Biafra in the southeastern part of Nigeria.
Ekpa has stated that it is willing to use violence against Nigerian government forces. Furthermore, Ekpa has imposed a curfew on certain days of the week for residents of five South-Eastern Nigerian states.
Simon Ekpa of Lahti announced a five-day stay-at-home order for more than 20 million Nigerians in December 2022.
Yle's visit to the area revealed that Ekpa and his troops are present.
Ekpa's Twitter video, in which he orders people to boycott the elections and stay in their homes, has already been viewed over a million times.
https://twitter.com/simon_ekpa/status/1609818901294231553?t=XPq6y4P2ZwlAqu9jxyLXUA&s=19
Yle called Central Criminal Police Inspector Tommi Rehn and asked him if Ekpa was arrested in Lahti today.
Rehn replied that the police had an operation in Lahti today in which one man was arrested, but at this stage his name or the reason for the arrest cannot be made public.
“We cannot comment further on the matter at this stage, because the measures related to the operation are still ongoing,” he says.
Ekpa has lived in Finland for a long time and is involved in local politics in Lahti. He is a member of the coalition and serves as a member of the public transport board of the Lahti region.
Several Nigerians living in Finland have demanded that Finland intervene in Ekpa's activities.
Ekpa's neighbor confirms the arrest: "There were several cars there"
The apartment building neighbor, who remains anonymous, witnessed Ekpa's mortgage and tells Yle about it.
“I noticed this because I left for lunch just then. I looked out the window and saw that there were several cars in the yard,” he says.
According to the neighbor, Ekpa has been an ordinary neighbor, although there have been occasional noises coming from his apartment at night.
Some speeches were held there. Once there was a slightly bigger disturbance, and that's when a man came to her door. However, a bigger conflict was avoided, the neighbor continues.
Ekpa's neighbor knew how to wait for his arrest.
“ I was surprised how quickly this was done, but based on what has been in the newspapers and news, I knew how to expect this,” he says.