The Päijät-Häme District Court in Finland, on Monday, sentenced controversial Biafra agitator, Mr. Simon Ekpa, to six years in prison after finding him guilty of terrorism-related charges.
The court ruled that Ekpa had participated in a terrorist organisation and had publicly incited crimes for terrorist purposes, according to a Finnish newspaper, Yle, on Monday.
Delivering judgement, the court held that Ekpa had used his significant social media following to stoke tensions in the ‘Biafra region’ between August 2021 and November 2024.
Biafra is a name often used by Ekpa and other separatist groups in Nigeria to refer to Nigeria’s southeast region and some parts of the south-south. The secessionist Republic of Biafra, which fought the Nigerian state for independence, was led by the then Lt. Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu during the civil war between 1967 and 1970.
In its immediate reaction to the judgement, the Nigerian government said the ‘ruling stands as a watershed moment – not only for the countless innocent Nigerians whose lives and livelihoods have been brutally disrupted by the reign of terror incited and financed by Ekpa and his collaborators—but also for the strengthening of bilateral relations between Nigeria and Finland’.
It further held that Ekpa had supplied these groups with weapons, explosives, and ammunition through his network of contacts in the region, and he was also found to have encouraged his followers on his X handle to commit crimes in Nigeria.
The court also ruled that Ekpa committed the offences from Lahti, a city in Finland where he stays, and argued that the implication was that the court had jurisdiction in the case.
Apart from terrorism, the Finnish court also convicted Mr Ekpa of ‘aggravated tax fraud’.
The district court’s verdictcan be appealled at a higher court.
Ekpa, 40, was arrested alongside four others on 21 November 2024 on suspicion of terrorist activities.
The Finnish police had said that Ekpa ‘contributed to violence and crimes against civilians in South-eastern Nigeria’.
The District Court of Päijät-Häme later ordered that the pro-Biafra agitator be imprisoned ‘with probable cause on suspicion of public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent’.
A Nigerian-Finnish citizen, Ekpa heads Autopilot, a faction of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPoB), which is led by Mazi Nnamdi Kalu, who has been on trial in Nigeria over terrorism-related charges.
The separatist group has been linked to some deadly attacks in the two regions, although it has repeatedly denied its involvement in the attacks.
Hours after the arrest, the IPoB faction loyal to Kanu, disowned Ekpa, explaining that the pro-Biafra agitator was never its member.
Ekpa was initially indicted for financing terrorism alongside the four other suspects. The police suspected that the Biafra agitator committed the crime of collecting money in violation of the Finnish Money Collection Act.
The Finnish police said that he allegedly committed the crimes between 23 August 2021 and 18 November 2024 in Lahti, a town in Finland.
However, the four other suspects were later released during preliminary investigation.
Earlier, the district court had set May 2025 as the deadline for prosecutors to present possible charges against Ekpa.
He was charged in mid-May with public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent and participation in a terrorist group.
The prosecutor had said the charges were linked to Ekpa’s secessionist activities in “Biafra land”.
In his first appearance in court on 30 May, the Biafra agitatordenied terrorism charges against him.
In a statement on Monday, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mallam Mohammed Idris, said: ‘For years, Ekpa’s reckless incitement and orchestration of violence through IPOB terror activities unleashed unspeakable pain: families shattered, businesses destroyed, children orphaned, and entire communities forced to live under fear. Hundreds of lives were lost, and many more maimed, in pursuit of a destructive and unlawful agenda that sought to undermine the peace, unity, and sovereignty of our nation.
‘By upholding the rule of law and ensuring that justice is served, the Finnish judiciary has not only vindicated Nigeria’s consistent position on this matter but also sent a clear signal to extremists everywhere that the world is watching, and justice will catch up with those who seek to destabilize societies through terror.
‘The Tinubu administration remains unshakable in its resolve to defend Nigeria’s sovereignty and protect the dignity of every citizen. We will continue to mobilize every resource, diplomatic, military, and judicial, to preserve the peace, unity, and territorial integrity of our country.
‘We urge all those who, under the misguidance of Simon Ekpa and others, have taken up arms against their fatherland to immediately lay them down and embrace the path of peace. Nigeria is big enough for all its people, but there can be no progress where violence and division prevail.
‘The Federal Government also extends its profound gratitude to the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Nigerian Armed Forces, the security and intelligence agencies, and the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Nigeria Police, whose sacrifices, courage, and commitment continue to secure our homeland in the face of daunting challenges. Their service and the resilience of the Nigerian people remain the backbone of our enduring unity.
‘As we mark this turning point, the Federal Government enjoins all Nigerians, at home and abroad, to work together for national unity, peace, and security of the country’.
