The Päijät-Häme District Court in Finland has sentenced a pro-Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa, to six years in prison for terrorism offences.
In a ruling delivered on Monday, the court found him guilty of inciting terrorism and participating in the activities of a terrorist group.
The court said Ekpa had used his “significant social media following” to stoke tensions in the South-East region of Nigeria between August 2021 and November 2024, a Finnish newspaper, Yle, reported.
According to the newspaper, the court also convicted him of aggravated tax fraud.
The three-member panel of judges, in a unanimous ruling, also stated that Ekpa was an influential member of a militant separatist movement whose goal was to actualise the secession of a Biafran state from Nigeria.
The district court, as reported by Yle, further stated that Ekpa supplied these groups with “weapons, explosives, and ammunition” through his network of contacts in the region, and that he was also found to have encouraged his followers on the social media platform X to “commit crimes” in Nigeria.
A long-term resident of Lahti and one-time local councillor, Ekpa reportedly committed the crimes from the Finnish city, according to the verdict, giving the Finnish court jurisdiction in the case.
He had denied all the charges in court.
However, the district court’s verdict is not final, as it can be appealed to a higher court.
A Major Victory For Nigeria Against Terror,’ FG Welcomes Ekpa’s Conviction
The Federal Government has described the conviction of Simon Ekpa for terrorism-related offences and other charges by a Finnish Court as “a major victory” against terrorism.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, stated this while reacting to Ekpa’s sentencing to six years in prison by the Päijät-Häme District Court in Finland on Monday.
“We welcome the news of Simon Ekpa’s conviction by a Finnish court for terrorism-related crimes and his sentencing to six years in prison. A major victory for the Nigerian people in the collective fight against terror,” Mohammed wrote on his official handle on X.
Ekpa moved to Finland in 2007 as an athlete.
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