On Monday, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), commended the conviction of Nigerian-born separatist agitator Simon Ekpa by a Finnish court.
Gatekeepers News reports that in his statement, Fagbemi emphasized that Ekpa’s sentencing serves as a confirmation of his involvement in violent crimes within Nigeria’s South East region. The Päijät-Häme District Court in Finland sentenced Ekpa to six years in prison.
The minister noted that this judgment supports Nigeria’s long-held assertion that Ekpa, who claims leadership of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has played a significant role in exacerbating insecurity in the area.
“We receive the good news of the conviction of Simon Ekpa by the Finnish court. His sentencing for terrorism and other related offences is a confirmation that he influenced and committed heinous crimes against the Nigerian people, especially in the South East,” the AGF said.
Fagbemi commended the Finnish authorities for their cooperation, stressing that the decision marked a step forward in international collaboration against transnational crimes.
“We see this as a signal of future partnership and would take appropriate further actions upon receipt and review of the court’s judgment,” he added.
The court found 40-year-old Ekpa guilty of inciting terrorism and participating in the activities of a terrorist group.
It said Ekpa had used his “significant social media following” to stoke tensions in the South-East region of Nigeria between August 2021 and November 2024.
The three-member panel of judges, in a unanimous ruling, also stated that Ekpa was an influential member of a militant separatist movement whose goal was to actualise the secession of a Biafran state from Nigeria.
The district court further stated that Ekpa supplied these groups with “weapons, explosives, and ammunition” through his network of contacts in the region, and that he was also found to have encouraged his followers on the social media platform X to “commit crimes” in Nigeria.
A long-term resident of Lahti and one-time local councillor, Ekpa reportedly committed the crimes from the Finnish city, according to the verdict, giving the Finnish court jurisdiction in the case.
