Simon Ekpa, a Nigerian separatist leader, was charged by Finnish authorities on Friday with encouraging terrorism online.
“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” is the charge that Finland’s National Prosecution Authority announced in a statement.
It further stated that the suspect’s attempts to make Nigeria’s Biafra region an independent state were connected to the alleged crimes, which were conducted in the city of Lahti between 2021 and 2024.
The accused was identified by Finnish public radio YLE as separatist leader Simon Ekpa, although the prosecution authority did not provide his identity.
Ekpa, who claims to lead the Biafra Republic’s government in exile — was detained in November.
According to the prosecution authority, the accused remained in custody and denied the charges.
Ekpa is a self-declared leader of a group within the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) that is advocating for the independence of the southeast region of Nigeria, which was the scene of a brutal civil war in the late 1960s.
In the city of Lahti, north of Helsinki, the dual Finnish-Nigerian national has also served on a public transportation committee as a local delegate for Finland’s conservative National Coalition Party.
On suspicion of funding Ekpa’s operations, Finnish authorities asked that four additional individuals be placed under remand in detention at the time of Ekpa’s arrest.
Due to a lack of evidence, the prosecutor decided to drop charges against four other people in the case, the prosecuting authorities announced on Friday.
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