Pro-Biafra agitator Simon Ekpa has appealed his terrorism conviction and six-year prison sentence in Finland, while the prosecutor in the case has also challenged the judgment, seeking a longer term of imprisonment.

The competing appeals are expected to come before a Finnish Court of Appeal within the next three weeks.

Ekpa was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment in September 2025 by the Päijät-Häme District Court after he was found guilty of terrorism-related offences.

He had been arrested by Finnish law enforcement authorities in November 2024 and subsequently prosecuted on charges including incitement to terrorism and participation in the activities of a terrorist group.

While Ekpa is seeking to overturn or alter the district court’s decision, the prosecutor is also appealing on the ground that the six-year sentence imposed was insufficient considering the seriousness of the offences for which he was convicted.

The appellate proceedings therefore place both the conviction and the adequacy of the punishment imposed by the lower court before the higher court for review.

In its 2025 judgment, the district court found that Ekpa used his substantial social media following to intensify tensions in Nigeria’s South-East between August 2021 and November 2024.

The court also found that he was an influential figure in a militant separatist movement seeking the establishment of an independent state of Biafra.

According to the district court’s findings, Ekpa supplied certain groups operating in the region with weapons, explosives and ammunition through his network of contacts.

The court further held that he used his account on X to encourage followers to commit crimes in Nigeria.

Apart from the terrorism-related offences, Ekpa was also convicted of aggravated tax fraud and breaches of provisions of Finland’s Attorneys Act.

Ekpa has publicly described himself as a disciple of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra.

In March 2025, the Nigerian government designated Ekpa as a terrorism financier.

The forthcoming appeal is expected to determine whether the district court’s findings and six-year sentence will stand, be varied or otherwise altered, while the prosecution will press its argument that a longer custodial sentence should have been imposed.

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