Finnish Court Sentences Simon Ekpa to Six Years Imprisonment for Terrorism

The Päijät-Häme District Court in Finland has sentenced pro-Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa, to six years in prison after finding him guilty of terrorism-related offences.

Ekpa was convicted on charges of inciting terrorism and participating in the activities of a terrorist organisation, Finnish newspaper YLE reported on Saturday.

According to the court, the separatist leader exploited his “significant social media following” to incite violence and fuel unrest across Nigeria’s South-East between August 2021 and November 2024.

The ruling also established that Ekpa was an influential member of a militant separatist group pushing for the creation of a Biafra republic, and that he was linked to the supply of weapons, explosives, and ammunition through a network of contacts in the region.

The court further noted that Ekpa encouraged his followers on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to commit crimes in Nigeria, a move prosecutors argued directly escalated violent attacks in the South-East.

Ekpa was arrested on November 21, 2024, by Finnish authorities following an investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). He was subsequently remanded by the Päijät-Häme District Court on charges of “public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent.”

During the probe, Finnish investigators also froze Ekpa’s assets as well as those belonging to his associates and affiliated companies.