Overview

• The Päijät-Häme District Court found Ekpa guilty of participating in a terrorist organization, public incitement for terrorist purposes, aggravated tax fraud and violating the Lawyers Act.
• Judges said he used a large online following from his base in Lahti between August 2021 and November 2024 to encourage crimes in Nigeria and to supply armed groups with weapons, explosives and ammunition through his contacts.
• The verdict can be appealed, and Nigerian authorities had sought his extradition after Finnish police arrested him in November 2024 alongside four others later released.
• Finnish police previously said his activities contributed to violence against civilians in southeastern Nigeria, where IPOB was banned in 2017 and sit-at-home actions have been linked to 700 deaths and major economic losses, according to SBM Intelligence.
• Nigeria’s information minister hailed the six-year sentence as a major victory in the fight against terror.