District Court judges have ruled that Simon Ekpa incited violence in Nigeria and illegally promoted the so-called Biafra Republic\u2019s independence<\/p>\n
A court in Finland has sentenced a controversial Nigerian separatist leader to six years in prison after finding him guilty of terrorism-related offenses and aggravated tax fraud. Abuja has long sought the conviction of Simon Ekpa, claiming his \u201cdisruptive\u201d actions have aggravated insecurity in the West African country\u2019s volatile southeast.
\nEkpa, a Nigerian-born Finnish lawyer, played a key role in fueling violence in Nigeria\u2019s Biafra region between August 2021 and November 2024, a three-judge panel at the Paijat-Hame District Court ruled unanimously on Monday, according to reports.
\nHe \u201cattempted to promote the independence of the so-called Biafra region in south-eastern Nigeria by illegal means,\u201d the BBC reported, citing court documents shared by Ekpa\u2019s lawyer. Ekpa denied the charges.
\nThe designated prime minister of the Biafra Republic Government in Exile (BRGIE) exploited his large social media following to incite crimes with terrorist intent and to strengthen the movement\u2019s push for independence from Africa\u2019s most populous nation, the judges said.
\nBiafra existed as an independent nation from 1967 to 1970 in southeastern Nigeria, but lost its statehood after a brutal three-year civil war with the Nigerian military. The largely Igbo-dominated region has for years been plagued by insecurity, fueled by clashes between the army and the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which seeks secession. The group has long accused the federal government of marginalization and oppression.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: African state accuses Finland of protecting separatist leader<\/p>\n
In November 2023, Nigerian army chief Christopher Musa branded Ekpa a \u201cmenace\u201d for repeatedly urging protests amid demands for the release of IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, who had been detained on charges tied to calls for Biafra\u2019s secession. Musa accused Finnish authorities of shielding the activist and enabling actions he said were driving widespread killings.<\/p>\n
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Ekpa was arrested in February 2023 at his home in Finland, with police saying they were investigating him for offenses including suspected \u201cmoney collection.\u201d
\nIn a statement on Tuesday, Abuja welcomed the \u201clandmark judgment\u201d against the \u201cpro-Biafra agitator,\u201d saying it would strengthen relations between Nigeria and Finland. The government said hundreds had been killed and many more maimed over the years by \u201cEkpa\u2019s reckless incitement and orchestration of violence.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
District Court judges have ruled that Simon Ekpa incited violence in Nigeria and illegally promoted the so-called Biafra Republic\u2019s independence A court in Finland has sentenced a controversial Nigerian separatist…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17568,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-politics","category-society"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t