Finnish prosecutors have formally charged a man—identified by local media as Nigerian separatist leader Simon Ekpa—with inciting terrorism online.
According to a statement issued Friday by Finland’s National Prosecution Authority, the individual is accused of public incitement to commit crimes with terrorist intent and participating in the activities of a terrorist group. The alleged offences occurred in Lahti between 2021 and 2024 and are linked to campaigns for the independence of Nigeria’s Biafra region.
Although authorities did not name the suspect, Finnish public broadcaster YLE confirmed the accused as Ekpa.
Ekpa, who claims leadership of the Biafra Republic Government in Exile, was detained in November 2024 and remains in custody. He has denied all charges, according to prosecutors.
A dual citizen of Finland and Nigeria, Ekpa is affiliated with a faction of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a separatist group advocating for the independence of southeastern Nigeria—a region scarred by a civil war from 1967 to 1970. In Finland, Ekpa previously served as a representative of the conservative National Coalition Party on Lahti’s public transport committee.
Following his arrest, Finnish authorities also detained four other individuals on suspicion of financing his activities. However, prosecutors announced on Friday that those charges had been dropped due to a lack of sufficient evidence.
Ekpa has been widely criticized for spreading disinformation related to the Biafran independence movement and has been the subject of several fact-checks by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
