The Federal Government of Nigeria has hailed the conviction and sentencing of Simon Ekpa, a Finland-based Biafra separatist agitator, describing it as a “major victory” in Nigeria’s fight against terrorism.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, reacted to the development after a Finnish court on Monday sentenced Ekpa to six years imprisonment for terrorism-related offences and other charges.
“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,” Idris wrote on his official X handle a moment later.
Ekpa, a long-term resident of Lahti and a one-time local councillor, was found guilty by the Päijät-Häme District Court of participating in the activities of a terrorist group, inciting the public to commit crimes for terrorist purposes, aggravated tax fraud, and violating Finland’s Lawyers Act.
According to Finnish newspaper Yle, the court ruled that Ekpa was an influential member of a militant separatist movement pushing for the secession of a Biafran state from Nigeria. The three-member panel of judges unanimously held that he supplied separatist groups with “weapons, explosives, and ammunition” and encouraged his followers on X (formerly Twitter) to commit crimes in Nigeria.
The trial ran from May 30 to June 25, 2025, with 12 days of hearings before the verdict was delivered. The court ordered that Ekpa remain in custody.
Recall that Ekpa, who denied all the charges, was arrested in December 2024 after Finnish authorities accused him of inciting violence and spreading separatist propaganda through social media.
