A District Court in Finland has sentenced a leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Simon Ekpa, to six years in prison for terrorism.
Mr. Ekpa, widely regarded as a key figure in the separatist movement, was arrested by Finnish authorities on 21 November 2024 following investigations by the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). He was accused of inciting terrorism and promoting violence through social media—activities believed to have fueled unrest in southeastern Nigeria.
The Päijät-Häme District Court ruled that the charges stemmed from “public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent” between August 2021 and November 2024. During the trial, the NBI froze Ekpa’s financial assets, along with those of his associates and affiliated companies.
Back in Nigeria, IPOB founder and another prominent separatist leader, Nnamdi Kanu, remains in the custody of the State Security Service (SSS) facing terrorism-related charges brought against him by the federal government.
