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 offences and aggravated tax fraud.
In a ruling delivered on Monday, the court held that Ekpa incited terrorism and actively participated in the activities of a terrorist organisation. Judges said he exploited his “significant social media following” to inflame tensions in Nigeria’s South-East between August 2021 and November 2024, Finnish newspaper Yle reported.
The court further concluded that Ekpa, a former local councillor in Lahti, was an influential member of a militant separatist movement pushing for the secession of a Biafran state from Nigeria. He was found to have supplied “weapons, explosives, and ammunition” through his contacts and encouraged his followers on X to commit crimes in Nigeria.
Beyond terrorism-related charges, the court also convicted him of aggravated tax fraud.
Although he denied all allegations, the three-member panel of judges issued a unanimous verdict. The case falls under Finnish jurisdiction because Ekpa committed the offences while residing in Lahti, where he has lived since moving to Finland in 2007 as an athlete.
The judgment is not final and may be appealed to a higher court.
Would you like me to also include the Nigerian government’s reaction to the ruling as reported?
