Simon Ekpa, the Nigerian separatist leader, has appeared before the Päijät-Häme District Court in Finland on Friday, May 30, as the Finnish government began his trial on terrorism charges.

Recall that in November 2024, the Finnish government arrested Ekpa on suspicion of terror-related activities, including incitement to violence and terrorism financing.

He was accused of using social media to incite violence and causing unrest in the South-east region in Nigeria, as part of his secessionist agitation for Biafra.

According to the prosecutors who are demanding a six-year prison sentence for Ekpa, his activities may constitute terrorism under Finnish law.

“We have a great deal of evidence regarding this individual’s online activity and communications,” said state prosecutor Sampsa Hakala.

During interrogations, Ekpa denied ordering weapons for pro-Biafra groups and other allegations against him.  

The dual Finnish-Nigerian citizen is known for his affiliation with a faction of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a separatist group agitating for the independence of Nigeria’s southeast, a region that experienced a devastating civil war between 1967 and 1970. 

Ekpa has also served as a local representative of Finland’s conservative National Coalition Party in Lahti, where he held a position on the city’s public transport committee.