The Simon Ekpa case sets a precedent
Cornelius Hamelberg
You see my trouble now ? I write IRA and IRAN turns up in the search results, sort of putting words in my mouth and me no want no Tribal War
This should not be missing when assessing the real situation : Finland - Nigeria relations
Was Simon Ekpa not aware that supporting terrorism is also illegal in Finland?
We now know that Simon Ekpa was a dual citizen, a citizen of both Finland and Nigeria and therefore subject to the full wrath of Nigerian Law for any crimes committed against Nigeria, especially crimes committed against Nigeria, in Nigeria, and of course subject to the full wrath of Finnish Law for crimes committed in Finland.
N.B. Terrorism is also a crime against humanity…
Nigeria could have requested that Ekpa be extradited to Nigeria to face the music, but then, viewing himself as the Hon. Prime Minister of the Biafra Republic Government in Exile (BRGIE), Barrister Simon Ekpa would have protested - he would have cried that as a sponsor of pro-Biafra terrorism he would not have received a fair trial in Nigeria, and so will have to make do with the results of a fair trial in his home away from home in Finland.
Internationally, there’s the famous case, a rather controversial one in which Turkey accused Fethullah Gülen - and for years, was requesting his extradition from the US - but Simon Ekpa is small fish and no Fethullah Gülen, he’s not even Nnamdi Kanu who was kidnapped from Kenya…or Umaru Dikko who was almost kidnapped from the UK
It would not have been in Finland's best interests , especially with regard to maintaining good international relations with the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for Finland to provide a safe haven for Simon Ekpa to do his fund-raising to financially support pro-Biafra terrorism in Nigeria, as that would be tantamount to state-sponsored or state-assisted terrorism -. and if they were to condone that, the question would arise
“Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see?”
Even after all the post-trial publicity, there’s still no clarity about the specific charges, and how the charge sheet against Simon Ekipa actually reads