The Finnish Ambassador to Nigeria and Nigerian authorities have described as fake the letter which threatened to charge Simon Ekpa, the Biafra agitator with international terrorism.
The letter which circulated on social media purportedly originated from Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin and gave Ekpa, who lives in Finland, an ultimatum of 48 hours to reverse his sit-at-home order to residents of the Southeast and call off threats against Nigerians who violate his orders or risk being charged with international terrorism.
But spokesman to the Finish embassy Jussi Ala-Lahti told AFP that the letter “does not originate from the Finnish government.”
He added that although Finland had asked Twitter to remove the message that first distributed the fake letter, “regrettably copies continue circulating in social media and on various internet platforms.”
The official Twitter account for the Finnish Ambassador to Nigeria also retweeted a post from the Nigerian Ministry of Information and Culture saying, “please note: this letter does not originate from the Government of Finland.”
Simon Ekpa's response.
Simon Ekpa.
Simon Ekpa has also dismissed the letter as " fake."
Reacting on his Twitter page, Ekpa said the fake letter was being shared by desperate criminals and urged his followers to disregard the threat letter, according to a NewsHour report.
He wrote, “My attention has been drawn to the fake letter being shared by desperate Nig criminals. Please disregard it, Nig is known for forgery, scams, internet fraud, and crimes & that’s why we are fighting to exit such an evil foundation.
" A country that its citizens make a living through forgery.
“This is an example of it.
"They are now desperately forging Finnish government letters to blackmail Simon Ekpa & this is coming from some of the criminals propagating the @PeterObi campaign.
“Because of forgery, fraud and criminalities of Nigeria state and Nigerians, the Nigeria passport is not an official means of identification in Finland.
"In Finland, your Nigeria passport is subject to further investigation because of fraud. Biafra will end it, ” Ekpa stated.
Ekpa, the self-proclaimed leader of the Autopilot faction of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has repeatedly declared sit-at-home across Nigeria's South-East and threatened “open war” and violence against those who come out to vote in the region in violation of his sit-at-home orders.
IPOB, a group pushing for self-determination for the people of Eastern Nigeria has repeatedly dissociated the group from its activities, clarifying that Ekpa does not belong to the IPOB.
Nigeria's Foreign Affairs Minister recently summoned the Finnish Ambassador to Nigeria, Leena Pylvanainen, to discuss Ekpa’s threats ahead of the February 25 elections.
Politics and Opinion.
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