The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) and a Public Interest and Constitutional Lawyer, Dr. Abdul Mahmud, yesterday hailed the conviction of Simon Ekpa by the Finnish Court. Recall that the PäijätHäme District Court in Finland had handed a sixyear prison sentence to proBiafra agitator Simon Ekpa after finding him guilty of terrorism-related crimes.

The verdict, delivered yesterday, established that Ekpa incited terrorism and was actively involved in the operations of a terrorist organisation. According to Finnish daily Yle, the judges said Ekpa exploited his “significant social media following” to inflame unrest in Nigeria’s South-East between August 2021 and November 2024.

However, in their unanimous judgment, the threemember panel described Ekpa as a key figure in a separatist armed movement pushing to establish an independent Biafra State. However, reacting to the judgement, Fagbemi said: “We receive the good news of the conviction of the leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra, Simon Ekpa, by the Finnish court.

“His conviction for the charges of terrorism and other related offences filed against him by the Finnish government is a confirmation that Ekpa had influenced and committed heinous crimes against the Nigerian people, especially in the South East. “We commend the Finnish authorities for supporting Nigerian in the fight against insecurity and see this as a signal of future collaboration.

“Appropriate further actions would be taken upon receipt and understudying a copy of the judgement of the court.” In his own reaction, Mahmud said: “The sentencing of Simon Ekpa in Finland wasn’t un-expected. “I commented on it last year when he was arrested that he would go down. I welcome the development, not merely because of the relief it brings to the Southeast, but because it underscores a profound truth: serious nations combat terrorism with the weight of law and the authority of their institutions.