Finnish authorities have formally charged Simon Ekpa, a Nigerian-born separatist figure, with offences linked to terrorism.
The charges, announced on Friday by Finland’s National Prosecution Authority, include public incitement to commit crimes with terrorist intent and involvement in a terrorist group.
According to the prosecutors, the alleged offences took place in Lahti, southern Finland, over a period spanning from 2021 to 2024.
Although the suspect’s name was not disclosed in the official statement, Finnish national broadcaster YLE identified him as Simon Ekpa—a dual citizen of Finland and Nigeria, widely known for leading a faction pushing for the independence of southeastern Nigeria under the banner of Biafra.
Ekpa, who styles himself as the head of the “Biafra Republic Government in Exile,” was arrested in November 2024 and remains in detention. He has denied the allegations.
The charges are tied to his continued advocacy for the secession of Nigeria’s southeast region, which experienced a devastating civil war in the late 1960s.
Ekpa has been a prominent figure within the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a group proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Nigerian authorities.
In addition to his activism, Ekpa previously held a political position in Finland, serving on Lahti’s public transport committee under the country’s conservative National Coalition Party.
Finnish investigators initially detained four additional individuals suspected of financially supporting Ekpa’s operations.
However, on Friday, prosecutors announced that the charges against them had been dismissed due to a lack of evidence.
Ekpa has also faced scrutiny from international news agencies, including Agence France-Presse (AFP), for disseminating misleading information and unverified claims tied to the Biafran separatist agenda.
