Ekpa Bagged Six Years In Prison For Terrorism In Finland

FINLAND – Simon Ekpa, a self-acclaimed leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra Government has been sentenced to six years in prison for terrorism related activities in a Finland court.

As gathered, the court ruled that Ekpa had participated in a terrorist organisation and had publicly incited crimes for terrorist purposes.

The charges relate to Ekpa’s alleged activities aimed at re-establishing an independent state in the Biafra region of southeastern Nigeria, which was briefly independent in the late 1960s.

In its verdict, the court said that Ekpa had used his significant social media following to stoke tensions in the Biafra region between August 2021 and November 2024.

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It added that Ekpa was an influential member of a Biafran separatist movement, which established armed groups aimed at bringing about Biafran independence by force.

The district court’s ruling further noted that Ekpa had supplied these groups with weapons, explosives, and ammunition through his network of contacts in the region, and he was also found to have encouraged his followers on the social media platform X to commit crimes in Nigeria.

Ekpa was arrested by Finnish authorities on 21 November 2024, following an investigation by the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) into allegations of inciting terrorism and promoting violence through social media, an activity that was believed to have contributed to unrest in southeastern Nigeria.

Following his arrest, Ekpa was remanded in custody by the Päijät-Häme District Court, which determined that the charge was based on “public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent”, alleged offences dating from August 2021 to November 2024.

During this period, the NBI also froze Ekpa’s assets, as well as those of his associates and related companies.