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By Lizzy Chirkpi
The Federal Government has welcomed the six-year prison sentence handed to pro-Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa by a Finnish court, describing it as a major breakthrough in Nigeria’s battle against terrorism.
On Monday, the Päijät-Häme District Court in Finland convicted Ekpa of inciting terrorist acts and collaborating with a terrorist organisation. The court found that between August 2021 and November 2024, he used his large social media following to incite violence and destabilise Nigeria’s South-East region.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, hailed the judgment as a decisive moment in the country’s counter-terrorism efforts.
“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,” Idris stated on X.
“This is a major victory for the Nigerian people in the collective fight against terror.”
Simon Ekpa, a self-styled disciple of detained the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu, became notorious for spearheading the violent enforcement of sit-at-home orders in the South-East, which resulted in multiple civilian and security casualties.
After Kanu’s extradition from Kenya in June 2021, Ekpa briefly assumed the role of lead broadcaster at Radio Biafra but was later dismissed by IPOB for refusing to follow its code of conduct. The fallout prompted him to form a splinter faction that intensified the sit-at-home campaign.
Finnish authorities arrested Ekpa in November 2024 following Nigeria’s mounting pressure over his role in fuelling unrest from abroad. Investigations revealed that he had been “spreading terrorist propaganda on social media,” leading to his conviction. In March 2025, Nigeria officially designated him a “terrorism financier.”