A prosecution witness told a court on Friday that Simon Ekpa, a Finland-based pro-Biafra activist, will soon be extradited to Nigeria to face trial for supporting Nnamdi Kanu in the push for an independent Biafra. The witness, known as PW-AAA, is a State Security Service (SSS) officer who helped arrest Kanu, the leader of the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), in 2015. He testified as the first prosecution witness in Kanu’s ongoing trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja. Kanu is facing charges of terrorism and treason for leading a separatist campaign to create a Biafra republic from five southeastern states and parts of neighboring states. The prosecution began its case against Kanu on Tuesday after nearly a decade of delays. While being questioned by Kanu’s lawyer, Kanu Agabi (SAN), PW-AAA revealed that plans are in place to extradite Ekpa.
Ekpa leads Autopilot, a breakaway faction of IPOB. Finnish police arrested him and four others on 21 November 2024 over suspected terrorist activities. The police accused Ekpa of contributing to violence against civilians in southeastern Nigeria. A Finnish court later ordered his detention on suspicion of publicly inciting crimes with terrorist intent.
Following Ekpa’s arrest, the IPOB faction loyal to Kanu distanced itself from him, saying Ekpa was never a member of their group.
During Friday’s court session, the federal government also presented items recovered from Kanu when he was arrested. The court accepted these as evidence. They include laptops, iPads, modems, microphones, phones, passports (Nigerian and British), and other personal items like perfumes, shoes, watches, and documents linked to IPOB.
Under cross-examination, the witness confirmed that no weapons were found on Kanu or the woman arrested with him. He added that although the items seized were not weapons, they could have been used for other purposes. PW-AAA clarified that his job was only to arrest Kanu and take his statement, not to analyze the items.
The trial judge, James Omotosho, scheduled the next hearing for May 6, 7, and 8 to continue cross-examination.
