Lahti, Finland – Na so di Päijät-Häme District Court for Finland take matter serious as dem sentence Simon Ekpa to six years behind bars. Ebin Monday, 1 September when dem drop di bombshell. Dis guy wey don turn from athlete to politician bin dey involved for terrorism wahala among oda tins, according to di court documents wey BBC News Pidgin sabi well well.
According to di court, dis 40-year-old man no be small fish. E bin participate for activities wey dey related to terrorist group, dey encourage pipo to commit crimes for terrorist reasons, and even dey involved for serious tax fraud. Na wah! Dem still say e dey violate Lawyers Act. Who go fit talk say dis guy no dey busy?
Di court say Simon dey try promote di so-called independence of di Biafra region for southeast Nigeria by any means wey no dey legal between August 2021 and November 2024. E use social media to gain big influence politically, dey take advantage as confusion dey scatter among di key separatist movement for Nigeria. Na so e takey enter di matta well-well.
Ekpa no gree accept di blame, o. Court still find out say im don turn di activities of di separatist movement into one fully organised form, joining forces with others wey dey interested in di same wahala. Di court even tok say armed groups don dey set up under di movement wey dem sabi as terrorist groups. Na wetin we call ‘e don dey equip dem with weapons, explosives, and ammunition through im contact network’, na wetin dem verdict talk.
And dat na not all, e dey also dey entice him social media following (dem wey dey know am as di X-account gang) to commit crimes for Nigeria. Di main hearings keep goin from 30 May to 25 June 2025—with dem three judges wey hear di case dey on di same page even without any wahala.
December 2024 na di time when di Finnish authorities catch Simon Ekpa on top di allegations of terrorist activities. Dem send am dey prison with strong evidence wey fit make dem get di case against am. Dem talk say Ekpa dey spread separatist propaganda scatter for social media like say na gra-gra. Di incident wey land am for prison, na Lahti on 23 August 2021, sharp-sharp.
Besides Simon Ekpa, di Finnish National Bureau of Investigation still dey on di case of four odas wey dem suspect of terrorist crimes but na wetin dem call ‘no evidence’ make dem drop di charges for dem guys. But wetin dem no fit deny na say Simon Ekpa no be local champion for sports, biko! Dis guy na former 100m sprinter for Nigeria, e represent Nigeria for di 2003 Africa U20 Championships.
But as life go, injury no gree am continue di run race, so e turn to politics. E don marry Finnish babe, Marianne Säkäjärvi, and di couple even born pikin before dem separate. E don also jam politics and win seat for Lahti municipal council as member of National Coalition Party (NCP).
Ekpa na serious supporter of Nnamdi Kanu, di leader of di Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). E don try dey bring Biafra region out from Nigeria by all means—although di Nigerian government don tag di group as terrorist. E navy step into di front line when Kanu land for trouble and appoint am to continue spreading di message through Radio Biafra.
But drama no go gree end, as Ekpa and di other IPOB leaders start to dey beef after Kanu lockup. E use di opportunity to create im own group wey e call ‘Auto Pilot’ wey still dey spread di message on social media. As if na dem alone, everybody dey fight for attention, and dis case don turn to serious political yakata.
Dem still find Ekpa guilty of violating di provisions of di Lawyers Act because e dey offer legal services to immigrants wey wan get asylum for Finland. E set up one law firm in 2015, Ekpa & Co Oy, even though di wahala be say he no get legal license to practice for court. Na im ex-wife, Marianne, dey run di show instead, handling most cases.
In di end, dis guy dey face serious trouble just for trying to mix politics with terrorism and law work. Wetin e go do na matter of time, but one tin dey sure, dis na serious gist wey we go follow sharp-sharp.
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