KEY POINTS
- Päijät-Häme District Court sentences Simon Ekpa to six years.
- Convictions include terrorism offences, incitement, and aggravated tax fraud.
- Ekpa accused of equipping armed groups and inciting violence via social media.
The Päijät-Häme District Court in Finland has sentenced Nigerian-born Finnish politician, Simon Ekpa, to six years in prison for terrorism-related crimes and other offences.
The court convicted the 40-year-old former Lahti municipal councillor on multiple charges, including participating in the activities of a terrorist organisation, inciting crimes for terrorist purposes, committing aggravated tax fraud, and violating the Lawyers Act.
The court ordered that Ekpa remain in custody.
Biafra connection
According to the judgment, between August 2021 and November 2024, Ekpa sought to promote the independence of the so-called Biafra region in southeastern Nigeria through illegal means.
“He used social media to gain a politically influential position and took advantage of the confusion within a key separatist movement in Nigeria to play a significant role in it,” the court statement read.
Ekpa denied all charges against him.
Building armed groups
Furthermore, the court found that Ekpa played a central role in transforming the separatist movement into a structured organisation.
It was revealed during trial sessions that armed groups were created 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.
Arrest and trial
Finnish authorities arrested Ekpa in December 2024 on terrorism-linked charges, holding him on probable cause and on suspicion of publicly inciting people to commit crimes with terrorist intent.
The trial ran across 12 sessions between May 30 and June 25, 2025, with a three-judge panel unanimously delivering the verdict.
Police initially arrested four other men in connection with the case, but prosecutors later dropped the charges for lack of evidence.
Separatist background
Ekpa, who also once served as a municipal councillor in Lahti, gained wide attention for his controversial involvement in the Biafran separatist movement.
His online broadcasts and social media posts have long stirred both support and condemnation within Nigeria and abroad.
