Finnish Court reduces Simon Ekpa’s terrorism sentence

The court also upheld his convictions for aggravated tax fraud and violating regulations governing the legal profession. Ekpa, a Finnish-Nigerian dual citizen and former local politician, was accused of directing armed groups in southeastern Nigeria from Lahti, Finland, between 2021 and 2024. The court found that the groups carried out attacks on police stations, government buildings and military checkpoints as part of efforts to establish an independent Biafra.

It also found that Ekpa used social media to encourage violence and participated in supplying weapons, explosives and ammunition to the armed groups. However, the appeals court reduced his sentence by two years, citing the exceptional circumstances surrounding the offences, which it said resembled a civil conflict or a state of necessity.

The court, nevertheless, held that the scale and irregular nature of the fighting did not meet the threshold for a full-scale civil war.

Prosecutors had sought a longer prison sentence. Ekpa, 41, has been in custody since November 2024. He moved to Finland from Nigeria in 2007 as an athlete and later acquired Finnish citizenship.

He subsequently served as a local politician with Finland’s National Coalition Party in the Lahti area. Despite the convictions, Ekpa has denied the charges.