A Finnish court has sentenced pro-Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa, to six years in prison for terrorism-related offences, including incitement to violence and participation in a terrorist organisation.
The Päijät-Häme District Court delivered the judgment after prosecutors argued that Ekpa, a dual Finnish-Nigerian national, used online platforms to incite acts of terrorism in Nigeria between 2021 and 2024.
According to state prosecutor Sampsa Hakala, investigators presented substantial evidence linking Ekpa’s online communications to violent incidents in Southeastern Nigeria. Prosecutors alleged that he operated from Lahti, Finland, under the self-acclaimed title of Prime Minister of the Biafra Republic Government in Exile.
Ekpa, who was arrested in November 2024 and has remained in custody since, denied all charges. His lawyer, Kaarle Gummerus, questioned the reliability of intelligence provided by Nigerian authorities.
In addition to terrorism-related offences, Ekpa was also found guilty of aggravated tax fraud and violations of Finland’s Lawyers Act.
Finnish authorities revealed that the investigation, conducted in collaboration with Nigerian security agencies, also looked into possible financing networks for his activities. While four suspected financiers were arrested, charges against them were later dropped for lack of evidence.
Ekpa has been a prominent figure in the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a separatist group declared a terrorist organisation by the Nigerian government in 2017. IPOB has long campaigned for the secession of the Igbo-dominated Southeast, a struggle that traced back to the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970), which claimed over a million lives.
The conviction marked a significant international crackdown on separatist activities linked to Nigeria’s security challenges.
