FG hails Finland for jailing Simon Ekpa, calls judgment a ‘watershed moment’

The Federal Government has commended Finland over the conviction of Simon Ekpa, a pro-Biafra agitator, describing the judgment as a milestone in the fight against terrorism and extremism.

On Monday, the Päijät-Häme District Court in Finland sentenced Ekpa to six years’ imprisonment for terrorism offences, including incitement and financing of violence in Nigeria’s South-East region.

Reacting in a statement, Mohammed Idris, the minister of Information and National Orientation, said the ruling marked “a watershed moment, not only for the countless innocent Nigerians whose lives and livelihoods have been brutally disrupted by the reign of terror incited and financed by Ekpa and his collaborators, but also for the strengthening of bilateral relations between Nigeria and Finland.”

The government said Ekpa’s actions had left a trail of destruction. “For years, Ekpa’s reckless incitement and orchestration of violence through IPOB terror activities unleashed unspeakable pain: families shattered, businesses destroyed, children orphaned, and entire communities forced to live under fear,” the statement read.

Idris noted that the Finnish judiciary, by ensuring justice, had “vindicated Nigeria’s consistent position on this matter” while sending “a clear signal to extremists everywhere that the world is watching, and justice will catch up with those who seek to destabilize societies through terror.”

He reaffirmed the Tinubu administration’s commitment to defending the country’s sovereignty and protecting its citizens. “We will continue to mobilise every resource, diplomatic, military, and judicial, to preserve the peace, unity, and territorial integrity of our country,” he said.

The government also urged armed groups to renounce violence. “We urge all those who, under the misguidance of Simon Ekpa and others, have taken up arms against their fatherland to immediately lay them down and embrace the path of peace,” Idris added.

The minister extended appreciation to security agencies and the Nigerian people for their resilience. “Their service and the resilience of the Nigerian people remain the backbone of our enduring unity,” the statement noted.

The government called on Nigerians at home and abroad to “work together for national unity, peace, and security of the country.”