Former Nigeria junior international and Biafra activist, Simon Ekpa arrested in Finland

Simon Ekpa, a former Nigeria junior track and field star and a controversial leader of a Nigerian secessionist movement has been arrested at his home in Finland.

Ekpa, a triple jump silver medal winner at the 2003 African U20 Championships in Garoua, Cameroon, according to the BBC, allegedly used social media to incite violence.

Born on 21 March 1985, Ekpa leads a faction within the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) fighting to breakaway from Nigeria.

The Southeastern Nigerian has witnessed a lot of killings some of which have been linked with Ekpa albeit the former Nigeria jumper has denied any links to the killings and violence in the region.

Ekpa holds a personal best of 15.78m in the triple jump, 7.12m in the long jump and 11.10 in the 100m.

He was seventh (6.68m) in the long jump event at the African U20 Championship in Cameroon and fifth in the triple jump event at the Nigerian Championships in 2003.

He won a bronze medal in the triple jump event at the 2004 National Sports Festival in Abuja and silver two years later in the same event but this time at the Nigerian Championships in Abuja before moving to Finland.

Ekpa who renounced his Nigerian citizenship in 2022 said in July this year he has returned all the medals he won while competing for Nigeria.

‘I have successfully returned the medals I won for Nigeria during my athletic days. The medals were delivered today (Monday) to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar.

‘With this development, every tie between me and Nigeria both in sports, spiritually and physically is hereby cut off completely.

‘The medals are as follows: 2003 African Junior SILVER MEDAL; ExxonMobile track and field GOLD MEDAL; ExxonMobile track and field SILVER MEDAL; Other medals have nothing to do with Nigeria, so I retain them,’ he said in a post on X in July.