Finnish prosecutors announced on Friday that they have charged a man identified by Nigerian media as separatist leader Simon Ekpa with inciting terrorism online.
In a statement, Finland’s National Prosecution Authority disclosed that it had charged “a Finnish individual in a case involving suspected public incitement to commit crimes with terrorist intent and participation in the activities of a terrorist group.”
The alleged offences were committed in Lahti between 2021 and 2024. According to the statement, they were related to the suspect’s efforts to establish Nigeria’s Biafra region as an independent state.
While the prosecution authority did not name the suspect, Finnish public broadcaster YLE identified him as Simon Ekpa, a self-proclaimed leader of a faction of the prescribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which is advocating for the secession of Nigeria’s South-East region. The region was the site of a bloody civil war in the late 1960s.
The charges against Ekpa form part of a broader investigation during which the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation detained five individuals. Four of the detainees were suspected of financing terrorist activities but were released during the preliminary investigation due to insufficient evidence.
Ekpa, who has previously claimed to lead the Biafra Republic’s government in exile, was initially detained in November. The prosecution authority stated that the accused remains in custody and has denied the charges.
Ekpa, a dual Finnish-Nigerian citizen, has also served as a local representative of Finland’s conservative National Coalition Party in Lahti, where he served on a public transport committee.
Both Finnish and Nigerian authorities were investigating the case, as Ekpa’s activities suspected to have led to violence and other crimes against civilians and authorities in southeastern Nigeria.
Following Ekpa’s arrest, Finnish authorities requested the detention of four other individuals suspected of financing his activities. However, the prosecution authority confirmed on Friday that charges against the four have been dropped due to insufficient evidence.