Finnish court sentences Simon Ekpa to 6 years in prison on terrorism charges
Story by Susan Mbamah
A Finnish court has sentenced Simon Ekpa to six years in prison on terrorism charges related to his involvement with a Biafran separatist movement.
The Päijät-Häme District Court found Ekpa guilty of participating in a terrorist organisation and publicly inciting crimes for terrorist purposes.
The court’s decision is based on Ekpa’s activities between August 2021 and November 2024, during which he reportedly used his large social media following to fuel tensions in Nigeria’s southeastern Biafra region.
He was identified as an influential member of a separatist movement that established armed groups to achieve Biafran independence by force.
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According to the verdict, Ekpa supplied these groups with weapons, explosives, and ammunition and also used his platform on social media site X to encourage his followers to commit crimes in Nigeria.
Ekpa, who was born in Biafra and moved to Finland in 2007 as an athlete, committed these crimes from the Finnish city of Lahti. The court’s verdict noted this gave them jurisdiction over the case.
A former local councilor, Ekpa denied all charges during the trial.
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The court also convicted him of aggravated tax fraud. The verdict is not yet final and can be appealed to a higher court.
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