The Päijät-Häme District Court in Finland has sentenced Simon Ekpa, a pro-Biafra activist, to six years in prison for terrorism-related offences.
In a ruling delivered on Monday, the court found Ekpa guilty of inciting terrorism and participating in the activities of a terrorist group.
According to Yle, a Finnish newspaper, the judges said Ekpa used his large social media following between August 2021 and November 2024 to spread propaganda and fuel violence in Nigeria’s south-east region. The court described him as a key member of a militant separatist movement seeking to create a new state of Biafra.
The ruling also revealed that Ekpa had:
Provided certain groups in Nigeria with weapons, explosives, and ammunition through his contacts.
Encouraged his followers on X (formerly Twitter) to commit violent crimes.
Issued online calls for “sit-at-home” protests, which often turned violent in the region.
In addition to the terrorism charges, the court convicted him of aggravated tax fraud and violating the Attorneys Act.
Ekpa, a Finnish-Nigerian lawyer, calls himself a disciple of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). After Kanu was extradited to Nigeria in 2021, Ekpa briefly became the lead broadcaster for Radio Biafra. But IPOB later dismissed him, accusing him of refusing to follow their rules. He went on to form a splinter separatist group.
From Finland, Ekpa frequently used his online platforms to call for attacks on Nigerian security forces and enforce sit-at-home orders in the south-east. IPOB repeatedly distanced itself from his actions.
In November 2024, Finnish authorities arrested Ekpa for spreading terrorist propaganda online. Then, in March 2025, Nigeria’s federal government officially listed him as a “terrorism financier” and froze his accounts along with those of 16 other entities.
The Finnish court’s unanimous ruling by three judges marks one of the strongest actions yet taken against Ekpa since his rise to prominence.
