Nigerian separatist leader, Simon Ekpa today appeared before the Päijät-Häme District Court in Finland as Finnish government commenced his trial on alleged terrorism.
In November 2024, the Finnish government arrested Ekpa on suspicion of terror-related activities, including incitement to violence and financing terrorism.
Ekpa was accused of using social media to incite violence and causing unrest in the South-east region in Nigeria, as part of his secessionist agitation for Biafra.
The prosecutors are demanding a six-year imprisonment for Ekpa, insisting that, under Finnish law, his activities may constitute terrorism.
State prosecutor Sampsa Hakala said, “We have a great deal of evidence regarding this individual’s online activity and communications”.
Ekpa has denied ordering weapons for pro-Biafra groups and other allegations against him during interrogations.
According to reports, the Biafra Republic Government in Exile (BRGIE), who refers to Ekpa as its Prime Minister has declared a two-day lockdown across the South-Eastern Nigeria in solidarity with him over his appearance in Court.
“We confirm that these two days are significant in the lives of all Biafrans living at home and abroad. Our Prime Minister Simon Ekpa has been detained by the Finnish government since November 2024; imperatively, he will appear in Finnish court on May 29 and so Biafrans should honour him as a hero of our time who has sacrificed his life for Biafra,” the group said.
The dual Finnish-Nigerian citizen is known for his affiliation with a faction of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a separatist group agitating for the independence of Nigeria’s southeast, a region that experienced a devastating civil war between 1967 and 1970. Ekpa has also served as a local representative of Finland’s conservative National Coalition Party in Lahti, where he held a position on the city’s public transport committee.
