The Päijät-Häme District Court in Finland has sentenced Nigerian-born politician and separatist agitator, Simon Ekpa, to six years in prison for terrorism-related offences and other crimes.
The ruling, delivered on Monday, September 1, 2025, found the 40-year-old former Lahti municipal councillor guilty of participating in the activities of a terrorist organisation, inciting the public to commit crimes for terrorist purposes, engaging in aggravated tax fraud, and violating provisions of the Lawyers Act. The court further ordered that he remain in custody.
According to court documents, 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 reportedly exploited a leadership crisis within a separatist movement to assume a significant role, using social media to expand his influence.
The court also held that Ekpa played a central role in restructuring the movement into an organised entity. Armed groups were allegedly formed under his leadership, classified by the judges as terrorist organisations. He was accused of equipping these groups with weapons, explosives, and ammunition, and of inciting his followers on X (formerly Twitter) to commit crimes in Nigeria.
Despite denying all charges throughout the trial, the court unanimously convicted him after 12 sittings held between May 30 and June 25, 2025, under a panel of three judges.
Ekpa was initially arrested in December 2024 on suspicion of terrorist activities and remanded by the same court on probable cause for incitement and separatist propaganda. While four other men were also investigated on similar charges, their cases were dropped due to lack of evidence.
