Finnish Court Cuts Simon Ekpa’s Prison Term From Six Years To Four

A Finnish court of appeal has reduced the prison sentence of Simon Ekpa, a prominent Biafra separatist agitator, from six years to four years while upholding his convictions on terrorism-related charges.

The court delivered its ruling on Thursday, maintaining the convictions imposed by the Päijät-Häme District Court in September 2025. The lower court had sentenced Ekpa to six years in prison.

Both Ekpa and the prosecution appealed the judgment. While Ekpa challenged his conviction, prosecutors sought a longer prison term.

The appeal court, however, reduced the sentence after considering circumstances surrounding the offences and their connection to the armed conflict in south-eastern Nigeria.

Ekpa, 41, has remained in Finnish custody since his arrest in November 2024.

The district court had accepted the prosecution’s argument that Ekpa operated from Finland as the supreme commander of several armed groups in south-eastern Nigeria. The groups allegedly sought to establish an independent Biafran state.

According to the prosecution’s case, members of the groups carried out attacks on police stations, government buildings and military roadblocks to advance their separatist campaign.

The appeal court reviewed the evidence and agreed with the lower court’s findings about Ekpa’s activities. However, it also considered new evidence he presented to support his claim that an internal armed conflict existed in south-eastern Nigeria.

Ekpa argued that international humanitarian law, rather than Finland’s domestic terrorism legislation, should govern his actions. He maintained that his activities related to the conflict and did not carry terrorist intent.

To assess the argument, the court examined the nature of the fighting, the organisation of the armed groups and the intensity of the violence. It also compared the evidence with legal assessments of the Balkan wars by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

The court found that the use of heavy weapons by Nigerian government forces, including armoured vehicles and combat helicopters, supported the claim that an internal armed conflict existed.

However, it ruled that the fighting did not meet the legal threshold for a civil war. The court therefore rejected Ekpa’s argument that the conflict removed terrorist intent from his actions.

Despite that conclusion, the judges considered the circumstances relevant to the appropriate punishment. They found similarities between the case and situations in which factors such as civil war, self-defence or necessity could affect criminal liability.

The court consequently reduced Ekpa’s prison term to four years but left his convictions intact.

Simon Ekpa has been associated with the campaign for an independent Biafran state in south-eastern Nigeria, a movement that has been linked to armed violence and insecurity in the region.