He links himself to Ipob and describes himself as “prime minister of the Government of the Republic of Biafra in exile”.

However, Ipob, which is banned in Nigeria, dissociated itself from Ekpa.

In March, the Nigerian military said Ekpa and 96 others were wanted for terrorism, violent extremism and secessionist threats.

Ekpa lives in the city of Lahti, north of Finland’s capital, Helsinki, where he is a local representative of the conservative Finnish National Coalition Party, according to the AFP news agency.

On Thursday, Finnish detectives said he incited “violence against civilians and public authorities and other crimes in southeastern Nigeria” while in Finland.

“He carried out this activity by campaigning, for example, on his social media channels,” said Otto Hiltunen, head of Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation.

Detectives said the investigation involved international cooperation, but did not clarify whether Nigeria was involved.

Four other people were also remanded on suspicion of financing Ekpa’s activities.

It is unclear whether Nigerian authorities have yet made a formal extradition request, but several senior officials have said they expect him to stand trial in the West African country.

“Thank you Finland. See you soon Prime Minister”, Dada Olusegun, Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu, posted on the X platform, externala mocking reference to Ekpa’s self-awarded title.

The Nigerian military praised Ekpa’s arrest, describing it as a “key victory” in the fight against terrorism, local media reported.

Tukur Gusau, an army spokesman, said army chief Christopher Musa was “satisfied with his arrest in Finland, with the hope that this will be a step towards his extradition to Nigeria so that he can face justice”.

Edward Buba, director of defense media operations, said: “We are delighted with his arrest and glad that the international community is working with Nigeria in our fight against terrorism.”

Nigeria has previously made unsuccessful efforts to extradite Ekpa to face criminal charges.

Last February, Finnish authorities arrested Ekpa after he threatened to disrupt Nigeria’s 2023 general election, but he was released after a brief interrogation.

The Nigerian military then accused the Finnish government and the European Union of protecting Ekpa.

But a Finnish envoy said at the time that while the European country was concerned about Ekpa’s activities, his rights as a Finnish citizen must be taken into account.

Ekpa has a large following in parts of southeastern Nigeria that have been plagued by instability for years due to conflict between Ipob and security forces.

He has repeatedly called for protests at home against the Nigerian government.

Ekpa rose to national prominence after he announced on his Facebook page in 2021 that Ipob leader Nnamdi Kanu had ordered him to take up the role of broadcaster at the group’s radio station, Radio Biafra.

Kanu has been in custody since 2021, when he was arrested in Kenya and brought back to Nigeria for trial.

Ipob was founded in 2012 as a peaceful movement but launched an armed branch in 2020, saying it was doing so to defend the Igbo ethnic group, although its critics say it has sparked violence that has caused huge suffering.

A Nigerian court has designated it a “terrorist” organization.