Factional leader agitating for the establishment of the Biafran Republic nation out of Nigeria, Simon Ekpa, has been sentenced to six years in prison over terrorism, sggravated tax fraud and others.
A document of Di Päijät-Häme District Court sighted by BBC News Pidgin today, September 1, said that the 40-year-old Ekpa, a former Lahti municipal politician, was found to be participating in the activities of a terrorist group and inciting the public to commit crimes for terrorist purposes.
He was accused also of engaging in aggravated tax fraud as well as violating the provisions of the Lawyers Act.
He was accused of promoting the secession of the Biafra region in South East of Nigeria from the Federal Republic of Nigeria by illegal means between August 2021 and November 2024.
He was said to have deployed social media to gain political influence and take advantage of the confusion from it for the key separatist movement in Nigeria, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to take a significant role.
The court said that it found out that Ekpa founded and developed the activities of the separatist movement into increasingly organised form alongside others.
It said that armed groups were established under the movement, equipping members of the armed groups with weapons, explosives, and ammunition through his contact network.
He was also accused of using his X account followers to commit crimes in Nigeria.
According to the BBC, the hearing, by a panel of three judges, heard the case from May 30 to June 25, 2025 in 12 sessions.
