Factional leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Simon Ekpa has been released by police in Finland hours after his arrest.
The 37-year-old, who claims he is a disciple of IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, was arrested earlier on Thursday at his apartment in Lahti.
A leading newspaper in Finland, Helsingin Sanomat, which broke the news of Ekpa’s arrest later reported that the Finnish Central Criminal Police has released him.
“The person being questioned today is suspected of a crime. We will return to the title on Friday,” the newspaper quoted Tommi Reen from the Central Criminal Police as saying during a phone interview.
Ekpa’s faction of IPOB is blamed for violent attacks in south-eastern Nigeria ahead of Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections, which he has urged people to boycott.
He denies any links to the killings and violence in the region, saying they were carried out by the Nigerian government.
The separatist has resumed posting inciting materials on social media.
“I know you will not sleep tonight. The end of Nigeria is here. your plan to Islamise Nigeria using your terrorist group has failed. This Saturday, we will know who are the indigenous people,” Ekpa wrote on Twitter after his release.
