Nigerian officials say they will seek the extradition of a controversial leader of a banned secessionist movement in Nigeria following his arrest in Finland on terrorism charges. Simon Ekpa, a Finnish citizen of Nigerian origin,

Police in Finland said Thursday they had detained five suspects in connection with deadly violence in southeastern Nigeria and were seeking a court extension of the detentions. The police did not identify the suspects,

Finish police arrested Simon Ekpa and four others for suspected terrorism financing and inciting deadly violence in Nigeria

The leader of the Eastern Security Network – an ethnic militia – was declared wanted by the military last March for terrorism.

Simon Ekpa, self acclaimed leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has been arrested by law enforcement in Finland. The BBC reports that Ekpa was subsequently sent to prison by the district court of Päijät-Häme for “spreading terrorist propaganda on social media”.

The Nigerian Government has announced that it is closely monitoring legal proceedings involving Simon Ekpa, the self styled Prime Minister of the Biafra Republic Government-in-Exile, following his arrest in Finland on suspicion of inciting terrorism and promoting violence.