The District Court of Päijät-Häme has sentenced Simon Ekpa, a former local politician from Lahti, to six years in prison for crimes including acts of terrorism. The charges are linked to the Biafra region in southeastern Nigeria, where Ekpa, 40, was born, IgbereTV reports.
According to the court, between 2021 and 2024, Ekpa sought to advance the secession of the Biafran region through illegal means while operating from Finland.
“He used social media to gain a position of political influence and exploited internal confusion within a major Nigerian separatist movement to assume a significant leadership role. The court found that Ekpa, together with others, established and developed the separatist movement’s operations into an increasingly organized structure, stated the court in a press release regarding the verdict.
The court determined that armed groups operating under the separatist movement were classified as terrorist organizations.
“Ekpa supplied these groups with weapons, explosives, and ammunition through his network of contacts. Additionally, he was found to have encouraged and incited his followers on X (formerly Twitter) to commit crimes in Nigeria.
Ekpa was convicted of participating in the activities of a terrorist group and public incitement to commit offenses for terrorist purposes. He was also found guilty of aggravated tax fraud and violating regulations governing the conduct of lawyers.
Ekpa first came to Finland in 2007 as a track and field athlete and later became a Finnish citizen. He has completely denied the terrorism charges.
During the trial, he described himself as an “average supporter of Nigeria” until around the turn of the decade, when he learned that government-backed forces had attacked his home community in Biafra.
According to Ekpa, these troops killed three women from a group of about 200 widows whom he had been supporting from Finland.
Ekpa began hosting live social media broadcasts where he shared information, images, and videos about the situation in Biafra. He stated that he came to believe it would be best if the people of Biafra gained “freedom” from Nigeria.
Due to his social media activity, Ekpa reported being contacted by the local Biafran government and began relaying its messages to the world. He also said he acted as a messenger between individuals.
Ekpa claimed he was elected Prime Minister of the Biafran government-in-exile but described the role as purely ceremonial. He completely denied any involvement with the separatist group IPOB.
Ekpa has denied having any authority over the local government or armed groups, stating that his target audience has always been people outside Biafra.
Biafra has previously attempted to gain independence. A bid for secession in 1967 led to a genocidal civil war that lasted until 1970 and claimed about 3 million lives.
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