JUST IN: Finnish Appeal Court reduces Simon Ekpa’s jail term to four years, upholds terrorism conviction

A Finnish Court of Appeal has reduced the prison sentence of pro-Biafran agitator Simon Ekpa from six years to four years while upholding his conviction on terrorism-related charges.

Finnish public broadcaster Yle reported on Thursday that the appeal court affirmed the decision of the Päijät-Häme District Court, which found Ekpa guilty of participating in a terrorist organisation and publicly inciting crimes for terrorist purposes.

According to Yle, Ekpa, who moved from Nigeria to Finland in 2007, was convicted by the lower court on the two offences.

“The charges related to Ekpa’s alleged activities aimed at re-establishing an independent state in the Biafra region of southeastern Nigeria, which was briefly independent in the late 1960s.”

The appeal court reduced the sentence after considering the circumstances surrounding Ekpa’s activities, noting that the situation in the Biafra region of south-eastern Nigeria closely resembled a civil war but did not meet the definition of one, according to Yle.

Ekpa had argued during the appeal that his involvement in the region’s political turmoil was not driven by terrorist intent.

The prosecutor had also appealed the original judgment, arguing that the six-year prison term did not adequately reflect the seriousness of his offences.

However, Thursday’s ruling is not final and can still be appealed to a higher court.

The case relates to Ekpa’s activities between August 2021 and November 2024, when the district court found that he had used his significant social media following to fuel tensions in the Biafra region as part of efforts to establish an independent state in south-eastern Nigeria.

Ekpa, who moved to Finland from Nigeria in 2007, is a long-term resident of Lahti and previously served on the Finnish city’s council, representing the National Coalition Party.

The development follows his conviction in September 2025, when the Päijät-Häme District Court sentenced him to six years in prison for terrorism-related offences and other crimes.

PUNCH Online reported that the court found him guilty of participating in a terrorist organisation, inciting crimes for terrorist purposes, aggravated tax fraud and violating provisions of the Lawyers Act.

The court also found that he had supplied armed groups with weapons, explosives and ammunition through his network of contacts and encouraged followers on X, formerly Twitter, to commit crimes in Nigeria.

Ekpa denied the charges during the trial.

His arrest in Finland in November 2024 followed investigations into alleged separatist activities linked to efforts to establish an independent Biafran state.

Biafra, in south-eastern Nigeria, declared independence in 1967, triggering a civil war that lasted until 1970, when the secessionist bid ended.