BREAKING: Finnish court sentence Simon Ekpa to prison | READ DETAILS
The self acclaimed prime minister of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Simon Ekpa, has been sentenced to six years in prison by the Päijät-Häme District Court I Finland.
The 40-year-old controversial Nigerian born lawyer, was sentenced on Monday, September 1, 2025 for terr-orism-related crimes.
Ekpa was found guilty onf multiple charges, including participation in the activities of a terro-rist organisation, incitement to commit cri-mes for t-errorist purposes, aggravated tax frau-d, and violations of the Lawyers Act.
According to the judgment, between August 2021 and November 2024, Ekpa attempted to promote the independence of the so-called Biafra region in southeastern Nigeria through illegal means.
“He used social media to gain a politically influential position and took advantage of the confusion within a key separatist movement in Nigeria to play a significant role in it”.
Ekpa denied all the charges against him.
The court also found that Ekpa was instrumental in founding and developing the separatist movement into a more organised structure, working alongside others.
It was revealed during the trial that armed groups were established under the movement, which the court classified as te-rrorist organisations.
“Ekpa equipped the groups with weapons, ex–plosives and ammunition through his contact network. He also urged and enticed his followers on X (formerly Twitter) to commit crimes in Nigeria,” the court ruled.
The trial was conducted over 12 sessions between May 30 and June 25, 2025, with a panel of three judges unanimously delivering the verdict.
Finnish authorities arrested Ekpa in December 2024 on charges linked to terr-orism.
He was held on probable cause and suspicion of publicly inciting people to commit crimes with ter-rorist intent.
The alleged offences were said to have occurred between August 23, 2021, and November 2024, primarily in the city of Lahti.
The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation also initially arrested four other men in connection with the case. However, charges against them were later dropped due to insufficient evidence.
