Simon Ekpa seeks Supreme Court appeal after terrorism conviction

Simon Ekpa, a Lahti resident, has applied for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court against his four-year prison sentence for terrorism offences, Yle reports. The offences were linked to efforts to secure independence for Biafra, a region in Nigeria.

The Court of Appeal reduced Ekpa’s sentence from the six years imposed by a district court, saying the circumstances of the offences closely resembled a civil war. It upheld findings that he took part in a terrorist group and publicly encouraged a crime with terrorist intent, using social media among other means. The district court had also convicted him of aggravated tax fraud and violating provisions of the Advocates Act.

Ekpa’s lawyer, Tommi Heinonen, said he would be released in about a month. Ekpa has been in custody since November 2024. In Finland, people serving a prison sentence for the first time can be released on parole after serving half their sentence.