A District Court in Finland has sentenced the self-appointed Prime Minister of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Simon Ekpa, to six years imprisonment for terrorism offense.
Ekpa, who has been in self exile, was arrested by the Finnish authorities on November 21, 2024, following an investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) of Finland into allegations of his inciting terrorism.
Ekpa was accused of promoting violence and using his social media accounts to incite terror acts in Nigeria, a development that was believed to have contributed to the unrest and killings in the South-east geopolitical zone of Nigeria.
The development that led the Federal Government of Nigeria to work behind the scene and secured Ekpa’s conviction.
This was as it gathered that with his conviction, his ally and fellow content creator, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu would likely face the same punishment soon in Nigeria.
The conviction of Ekpa is considered in both security and diplomatic circles as a classical case of justice served irrespective of borders.
The case started shortly after his arrest in November 2024 and commencement of trial in December, witnessed being delivered.
A top security personnel member who doesn’t want his name in print, commented on the delivered judgment, saying; “That is the way to go. Speedy justice. You can see back here in Nigeria, Nnamdi Kanu has been on trial for 6years.
“Thumbs up for the DSS Director General for revisiting these terrorism-related cases and pushing for accelerated hearing including that of 2022 Owo church attackers, Albanawi, and Yelwata invaders”.
Upon Ekpa’s arrest, for the various offenses which dated back to August 2021, he was remanded in custody by the Päijät-Häme District Court, which determined that the charge was based on “public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent”.
During this period, the NBI also froze Ekpa’s assets as well as those of his associates and companies that were linked to him.
