Simon Ekpa Challenges Six-Year Jail Term as Finnish Prosecutor Seeks Harsher Sentence

Simon Ekpa, the pro-Biafra separatist campaigner convicted of terrorism-related offences in Finland, has appealed his six-year prison sentence.

The Finnish prosecutor responsible for the case has also appealed the judgment, according to BBC Pidgin, asking the Court of Appeal to impose a longer sentence because the punishment handed down by the lower court was considered inadequate for the offences.

The appeal is expected to be heard by the Finnish Court of Appeal within the next three weeks.

Ekpa was arrested by Finnish authorities in November 2024 and later charged with inciting terrorism and participating in the activities of a terrorist group.

The Päijät-Häme District Court convicted him in September 2025 and sentenced him to six years in prison.

In its ruling, the court said Ekpa had used his “significant social media following” to heighten tensions in Nigeria’s South-East from August 2021 to November 2024.

The court further found that he was an influential figure in a militant separatist movement whose objective was the creation of an independent Biafra state in Nigeria.

It said Ekpa used his network of contacts to provide certain groups in the region with weapons, explosives and ammunition. He was also found to have encouraged his followers on X, formerly Twitter, to commit crimes in Nigeria.

Beyond the terrorism-related convictions, Ekpa was found guilty of aggravated tax fraud and breaching provisions of Finland’s Attorneys Act.

Ekpa has previously identified himself as a disciple of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

The Federal Government designated Ekpa a “terrorism financier” in March 2025.

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