From enforcer to prisoner: Rise, fall of Simon Ekpa

Ekpa

Once hailed by some as the voice of a renewed Biafran agitation, Simon Ekpa’s influence has collapsed following his sentencing to prison by the Finnish Päijät-Häme District Court.

Saturday PUNCH gathered that Ekpa’s imprisonment has shaken members of the separatist movement and cast a shadow over the recent declaration of a Biafran state by his supporters online.

The Päijät-Häme District Court sentenced the Nigerian-born Finn to six years in prison for terrorism-related crimes and other offences.

The 40-year-old former municipal politician from Lahti was convicted on multiple charges, including participation in the activities of a terrorist organisation, incitement to commit crimes for terrorist purposes, aggravated tax fraud, and violations of the Lawyers Act.

The court ordered that Ekpa remain in custody.

According to the judgment, between August 2021 and November 2024, Ekpa attempted to promote the independence of the so-called Biafra region in southeastern Nigeria through illegal means.

“He used social media to gain a politically influential position and took advantage of the confusion within a key separatist movement in Nigeria to play a significant role in it,” the court statement said, as reported by BBC News Pidgin.

But Ekpa denied all the charges against him.

Ekpa’s hubris

Ekpa had been thriving in his self-appointed leadership role, using online broadcasts and social media activities to assert influence and rally support before he was remanded in May 2025.

He gained prominence after the arrest of the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, in 2021.