Nigerian separatist leader Simon Ekpa sentenced in Finland to 6 years in prison

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Simon Ekpa, a Nigerian separatist leader, has been sentenced to six years in prison by a Finnish court for terrorism, tax fraud and an ethical violation.

Ekpa, who lives in Finland, heads the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) in Nigeria, which has been allegedly responsible for killings and abductions of hundreds of people in Nigeria’s southeastern region.

The Finnish court said Simon Ekpa was sentenced to six years in prison for participating in the activities of a terrorist group, public incitement to commit a crime for terrorist purposes, aggravated tax fraud and violating the provisions of the Lawyers Act.

The court said he pushed for the independence of a separatist region in Nigeria through “illegal means” and “equipped the groups with weapons, explosives, and ammunition through his contact network.”

In 2024, the Nigerian military declared Ekpa wanted as part of nearly 100 people sought on charges of terrorism. After his arrest in Finland, the Nigerian government sought his extradition.

For years, IPOB has sought to reignite a failed secession push by former Biafra. Biafra was a short-lived country that comprised Nigeria’s southeastern states, including future oil-producing areas. The Nigerian military government rejected the secession, which led to a civil war between 1967 and 1970, in which at least 3 million people died.

The group was banned in Nigeria in 2017.

Ekpa took over from Nnamdi Kanu, the group’s founder who was arrested by Interpol in a sting operation in 2021 in Kenya and extradited to Nigeria. Kanu has since been in prison, with his trial still ongoing.

In response to Kanu’s arrest, the group forbade any commercial activity every Monday in the region, a disruption that has been ongoing since 2021. The “sit-at-home” protests have led to 700 deaths, according to a count by SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based geopolitical risk advisory, and cost the Nigerian economy 7.6 trillion naira ($4.79 billion).