In a landmark ruling that resonates from the chilly courtrooms of Finland to the tense streets of Nigeria’s South-East, the Päijät-Häme District Court has delivered a decisive verdict. Simon Ekpa, the fiery pro-Biafra agitator whose social media broadcasts became a clarion call for violence, has been sentenced to six years imprisonment.
The court, sitting on Monday, found him guilty of a litany of serious charges, including inciting terrorist acts and maintaining association with a terrorist organization. This conviction, the culmination of a legal process that began with his arrest in November 2024, has been met with resounding approval from the highest echelons of the Nigerian government, which has long viewed Ekpa as a central figure fuelling a campaign of terror.
The court’s judgment painted a detailed picture of Ekpa’s operations, establishing that between August 2021 and November 2024, he systematically leveraged his vast and influential online platform to incite his followers towards violence and destabilization. His rhetoric, broadcast widely across social media, was not mere political speech but a direct catalyst for the bloodshed that has plagued the South-East region.
This campaign was most visibly enforced through the controversial and brutally imposed sit-at-home orders, which paralyzed economic activity and, more tragically, led to the deaths of numerous civilians and security personnel who dared to defy them.
The Nigerian Federal Government’s response was swift and unequivocal. Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, took to the social media platform X to articulate the nation’s stance. In a powerfully worded statement, he welcomed the Finnish court’s ruling, characterizing it as nothing less than a “significant step forward” and a “major victory in the war against terror” for the Nigerian people. This official sentiment underscores the relief felt by a state that had, just months prior in March 2025, formally designated Ekpa as a “terrorism financier,” a move that signaled its intense commitment to dismantling his network and influence.
Ekpa’s journey to this conviction is a tale of radicalization and factionalism. A self-proclaimed disciple of Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Ekpa briefly ascended to a position of prominence following Kanu’s extradition from Kenya in 2021, taking the helm as a lead broadcaster on the incendiary Radio Biafra. However, his radical methods and refusal to adhere to the station’s directives led to a swift and bitter falling out.
His dismissal from IPOB did not diminish his zeal; instead, it fueled the creation of his own breakaway faction, one that often operated with even greater militancy and disregard for human life, ultimately leading to the charges of “spreading terrorist propaganda on social media” that have now consigned him to a Finnish prison cell.
While the legal chapter in Finland may be closing, the sentence marks a critical, hopeful turning point in Nigeria’s arduous and ongoing struggle to restore peace and security to a troubled region.
