Biafran separatist campaigner Simon Ekpa is appealing a six-year prison sentence in Finland for terrorism-related offenses.
The Päijät-Häme District Court convicted Ekpa, who is appealing the ruling to the Finnish Court of Appeal, with the hearing expected to take place in the next three weeks, the report said.
But the Finnish prosecutor in the case has also appealed, arguing that the sentence given to the Nigerian-born separatist leader was too lenient for the crimes he was convicted of.
Finnish authorities arrested Ekpa in November 2024 after investigations into his activities and alleged connections to violent separatist activities in Nigeria’s Southeast.
He was later prosecuted on charges bordering on incitement to terrorism and participation in the activities of a terrorist organization.
In September 2025, the Päijät-Häme District Court convicted him and sentenced him to six years in prison.
The prosecution is now asking for a harsher sentence and Ekpa is asking the appellate court to overturn or lessen the punishment, BBC Pidgin reports.
Ekpa used the large presence he has on social media to promote activities that heightened tensions in Nigeria’s Southeast, the Finnish court said in its judgment.
The court said the separatist campaigner used his “substantial social media following” to stir tensions in the region between August 2021 and November 2024.
Ekpa was described in the judgment as an influential figure of a militant separatist group trying to set up an independent Biafra state from Nigeria.
The court also found that he had assisted some groups with regional contacts to obtain weapons, explosives and ammunition.
It also found that Ekpa encouraged his followers on 𝕏 to engage in criminal activity in Nigeria.
Ekpa’s legal woes in Finland did not end with the terrorism-related charges. The district court also convicted him of aggravated tax fraud and an offense against the Attorneys Act of Finland.
He was convicted after a long investigation into his activities and communications from Finland.
Ekpa describes himself as a disciple of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The Federal Government of Nigeria had earlier declared Ekpa a “terrorism financier” in March 2025.