The District Court of Päijät-Häme has sentenced Simon Ekpa—a Nigerian-born Finnish citizen and former local politician in Lahti, to six years in prison for terrorism related offenses linked to the separatist struggle in southeastern Nigeria’s region.

Ekpa, 40, who has long styled himself as a voice for Biafran independence, was found guilty of participating in the activities of a terrorist group, public incitement to commit crimes for terrorist purposes, aggravated tax fraud and violations of legal practice regulations.

According to the court, between 2021 and 2024, Ekpa built influence through fiery social media campaigns, using platforms like X (formerly Twitter) to rally followers and exploit divisions within the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a proscribed separatist group in Nigeria. The judge ruled that his leadership role helped transform the movement into a more organized structure with violent offshoots.

“He used social media to gain a position of political influence and exploited internal confusion within a major Nigerian separatist movement to assume a significant leadership role,” the court noted in its verdict. It further found that armed groups tied to the movement were classified as terrorist organizations and that Ekpa supplied them with weapons, explosives and ammunition through his network of contacts.

Ekpa, who arrived in Finland in 2007 as a promising track and field athlete before gaining citizenship, has become a polarizing figure. To his critics, he is a dangerous propagandist fueling violence from abroad. To his supporters, he is a defiant freedom fighter standing against what they describe as Nigerian state oppression in the southeast.

On the stand, Ekpa denied all terrorism allegations, portraying himself instead as a humanitarian moved to action after reports of government backed troops attacking his home community in Biafra. He claimed three widows from a group of women he supported financially were killed, sparking his decision to use social media to highlight the plight of his people.

He admitted to hosting frequent live broadcasts and sharing images and videos about Biafra but insisted his advocacy was peaceful and aimed at an international audience. While he acknowledged being named “Prime Minister” of a so-called Biafran government-in-exile, he dismissed it as ceremonial and denied directing IPOB or armed groups on the ground.