A COURT in Finland has sentenced Nigerian-born Finnish, Simon Ekpa, to six years in prison for terrorism-related and other offences.
The Päijät-Häme District Court on Monday, September 1, convicted the 40-year-old former municipal politician from Lahti on multiple charges, including participation in the activities of a terrorist organisation, provocation to commit crimes for terrorist purposes, aggravated tax fraud, and violations of the Lawyers Act.
According to the judgment, between August 2021 and November 2024, Ekpa attempted to promote the independence of “Biafra region” in southeastern Nigeria through illegal means.
Ekpa was accused of using social media to gain politically significant position and taking advantage of the confusion within a key separatist movement in Nigeria to play a significant role in the group.
The court also found that Ekpa played a crucial role in founding and developing the separatist movement into a more organised structure, working alongside others.
During the trial, it was argued that armed groups were established under the movement, which the court classified as terrorist organisations.
“Ekpa equipped the groups with weapons, explosives and ammunition through his contact network. He also urged and enticed his followers on X (formerly Twitter) to commit crimes in Nigeria,” the court said.
Ekpa, however, denied all the charges against him.
The trial spanned 12 sittings between May 30 and June 25, 2025. It ended with a unanimous verdict by a three-judge panel.
Ekpa, a former municipal councillor in Lahti, is widely known for his controversial involvement in the Biafran separatist movement.
His online broadcasts and social media posts attracted both strong support and sharp criticism in Nigeria and abroad.
The ICIR reported in November 2024 that the Finnish authorities detained Ekpa, alongside four others, over suspected involvement in terrorism-related activities in Nigeria.
The Päijät-Häme District Court made the decision following a hearing in Lahti, where Ekpa was alleged to have incited crimes with terrorist intent, according to reports from Finland.
It was reported that the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) accused Ekpa of leveraging his leadership in a Nigerian separatist group to promote violent activities in southeastern Nigeria.
According to the NBI, these activities, which reportedly targeted civilians and government forces, were coordinated through social media from Finland.
Otto Hiltunen, detective chief inspector, revealed that the investigation focused on Ekpa and four other suspects, all of whom are accused of financing terrorism.
Meanwhile, November 2024 was not the first time the Finnish government had arrested Ekpa.
The pro-Biafra agitator was arrested in Finland days after the Nigerian government expressed concern over his inciting comments and the imposition of a sit-at-home order on residents of Nigeria’s South-East, which could disrupt the elections scheduled for February 25, 20223.
Ekpa was detained by authorities in Lahti in February 2023 and was later released in the evening of that day.
His arrest also came weeks after an investigation revealed how he and his foot soldiers raised funds for their operations under the Biafra Republic Government in Exile (BRGIE), through fundraising meetings held worldwide.
According to the report, the group collects funds to support their militia activities, while also seeking alternative revenue streams such as cryptocurrency launches, merchandise sales, extortion, and international lobbying, to expand their operations.
The ICIR reports that Ekpa severally enforced sit-at-home order in the South-East, with what started as a peaceful exercise for the release of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), eventually becoming a bloody affair.
Residents of the South-East and visitors who decide to flout the order by stepping out for business, work, or personal reasons on Mondays risk losing their lives and property.
Several lives have been lost, and property destroyed at the hands of militias widely described as “unknown gunmen” who insist on enforcing the sit-at-home.
A report published by The ICIR in 2023 noted that micro businesses in the South-East states lost an average of N4.618 trillion ($10.495 billion) in one year to the sit-at-home order.
A reporter with the ICIR
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