A Finnish court has sentenced Simon Ekpa, a Nigerian-born Finnish citizen and leader of a Biafra secessionist faction, to six years in prison for terrorism-related offences. The Päijät-Häme District Court found that Ekpa equipped armed groups in south-eastern Nigeria with weapons and explosives.
The court ruled that he had engaged in illegal activities between August 2021 and November 2024, and had also used social media to incite the public to commit crimes in Nigeria. He was also convicted of aggravated tax fraud. Ekpa, a former councillor in Lahti, denied the charges but was unanimously convicted by a panel of three judges. Ekpa was arrested at his home in Finland in February 2023.
The Nigerian government had sought his extradition, accusing him of fueling violence in the region, where the secessionist conflict has left communities deeply scarred since the original Biafra war of the 1960s. It remains unclear if Ekpa will appeal the ruling.
(file photo).