Simon Ekpa, the Finland-based pro-Biafra agitator, has been sentenced to six years in prison by a Finnish court after being found guilty of terrorism-related offences.
The court in Päijät-Häme delivered the judgement on Monday, convicting Ekpa on charges bordering on incitement to terrorism, dissemination of terrorist propaganda, and support for violent activities.
Ekpa, who styled himself as the Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed Biafra Republic Government in Exile (BRGIE), has been a controversial figure in the separatist movement. He is known for issuing “sit-at-home” directives in Nigeria’s South-East region and for claiming responsibility for violent attacks, including the killing of police officers in Imo State in 2024.
His activities have long drawn criticism from both Nigerian authorities and the outlawed mainstream Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which has repeatedly disowned him. IPOB maintained that Ekpa was never its member, describing him instead as an infiltrator whose actions undermined the group’s non-violent struggle.
LEADERSHIP reports that Ekpa’s arrest by Finnish authorities in late 2024 followed months of investigations into his activities and online broadcasts, which prosecutors argued contributed to violence in Nigeria.
The court ruling marked the first major conviction against him since his emergence as a separatist leader in 2019.
As of press time, neither Ekpa’s legal team nor his faction of the Biafra movement has issued a statement in response to the development.
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