Finnish prosecutors have charged a man—identified by local media as Nigerian separatist leader Simon Ekpa—with inciting terrorism online.
In a statement released Friday, Finland’s National Prosecution Authority said a Finnish citizen had been charged with publicly inciting terrorist acts and participating in a terrorist group. While the official statement did not name the suspect, Finnish public broadcaster YLE confirmed the individual as Ekpa.
The charges relate to alleged offences committed in the city of Lahti between 2021 and 2024. Authorities say the case is linked to efforts to create an independent Biafra state in southeastern Nigeria.
Ekpa, who calls himself the leader 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 Finnish-Nigerian citizen, Ekpa is associated with a faction of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a separatist group pushing for the independence of Nigeria’s southeast—an area that witnessed a brutal civil war from 1967 to 1970. He previously served on Lahti’s public transport committee as a representative of Finland’s National Coalition Party.
In connection with the investigation, Finnish authorities had also detained four individuals suspected of financing Ekpa’s activities. However, prosecutors dropped those charges on Friday due to lack of evidence.
Ekpa has been the focus of multiple fact-checks by Agence France-Presse (AFP) for spreading misinformation related to the Biafra independence movement.