A video showing the President of Finland, Alex Stubb, declaring his support for the controversial pro-Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa and his Biafra cause has surfaced online.
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which Ekpa reportedly belonged to, is a group of Nigerians majorly from the Southeastern region of Nigeria, who are canvassing for an independent state of Biafra from Nigeria. That is, they wants “Biafra” carved out from the Southeastern and parts of South-South Nigeria.
The video began circulating following the report of Ekpa’s arrest alongside four others on suspicion of terrorist activities on Thursday, November 21, 2024.
READ: Simon Ekpa shares video of female police officer allegedly assaulted in 2022 as recent
An X user, @UgoJustrealugo, posted the video with a caption thus: “A PLADGE FROM FINNIS PRESIDENT”
The video has garnered over 180,000 views plus over 800 reposts and more than 1,400 likes as of November 26, 2024.
Another X user, @HMReportsBRGIE posted the same video with another caption that read:
CLAIM
Video shows the Finnish president, Alexander Stubb, declaring his support for Simon Ekpa and IPOB.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MISLEADING.
Simon Ekpa was born on March 21, 1985, and hails from Ngbo, a community in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, Southeastern Nigeria.
The Biafra agitator, who is based in Finland, has been linked to growing insecurity in Nigeria’s South-east.
ALSO READ: Claim by Simon Ekpa that Nigerian govt sponsored attack against Christians in Zamfara is MISLEADING!
He has continued to issue sit-at-home orders in the region during which residents who step out are sometimes killed, harassed or attacked by gunmen enforcing the illegal order.
Also, he has been using his social media pages, mainly on the X platform, to push a secessionist agenda, issue illegal orders, launch disinformation campaigns, and solicit funds for suspected terrorist activities.
However, Ekpa was arrested for contributing to “violence and crimes against civilians in South-eastern Nigeria and subsequently charged to court.
Checks using a Google reverse image search revealed that the original video shows Stubb declaring his support for the people of Ukraine over its ongoing war with Russia.
Meanwhile, Ekpa’s image was placed by the side of the viral video to suggest that the video shows the Finnish president speaking about his support for the Biafra group.
Further findings show that the original video was posted by Stubb on November 19, 2024 with a caption that read:
“Ukraine has been fighting for its independence for 1,000 days. Finland’s support for Ukraine remains unwavering. We will continue to stand by Ukraine. Slava Ukraini.”
The transcribed version of his actual statements in the video read:
“Finland’s Winter War lasted 105 days. Your war has lasted 10 times longer. We understand what you’re going through. We will support you for as long as it takes. We support you because it is morally right. We support you because you’re fighting for your independence, but we also support you because you’re fighting for Europe’s security.”
THE VERDICT
The claim that the video shows Finnish President Alexander Stubb declaring his support for Simon Ekpa and IPOB is MISLEADING; the original video shows Stubb declaring support for Ukraine over its ongoing war with Russia.
Nurudeen Akewushola is a fact-checker with FactCheckHub. He has authored several fact checks which have contributed to the fight against information disorder. You can reach him via [email protected] and @NurudeenAkewus1 via Twitter.
