The Päijät-Häme District Court has sentenced Simon Ekpa, a former local councillor and long-term resident of Lahti, to six years in prison for terrorism-related offenses and aggravated tax fraud.
The ruling, announced on Monday, stems from Ekpa’s alleged role in inciting violence and supporting armed separatist activities in Nigeria’s Biafra region.
The court found Ekpa guilty of participating in a terrorist organization and publicly inciting crimes with terrorist intent between August 2021 and November 2024.
Ekpa, who moved to Finland from Nigeria in 2007 as an athlete, was accused of using his significant social media presence on platform X to escalate tensions in southeastern Nigeria, where he advocated for the re-establishment of an independent Biafran state, a region briefly independent in the late 1960s.
According to the verdict, Ekpa played a key role in a Biafran separatist movement, which formed armed groups to pursue independence through violent means.
The court determined that he facilitated the supply of weapons, explosives, and ammunition to these groups through his regional network and encouraged his followers to commit crimes in Nigeria.
The court emphasized that Ekpa orchestrated these activities from Lahti, granting Finnish authorities jurisdiction over the case. In addition to the terrorism charges, Ekpa was convicted of aggravated tax fraud.
Ekpa denied all charges during the trial
The district court’s decision is not final and can be appealed to a higher court.