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No, Finnish court did not acquit Simon Ekpa

Nurudeen Akewushola
Nurudeen Akewushola
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File Photo : SImon Ekpa. SOurce : Social media

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A POST circulating on X claims that Simon Ekpa, the self-acclaimed leader of the Biafra Republic Government in Exile (BRGIE), has been acquitted by a Finnish court.

The claim was made by an X user, Daniel Somtochukwu, @Somtolism7, who shared a screenshot with the caption:

“Simon ekpa was acquitted by the Finland court. Nigeria 💔 cry me rivers of tears”

The post had generated over 4,700 views, 250 likes and dozens of reposts as of August 12 2026.

CLAIM

Simon Ekpa was acquitted by a Finnish court.

Screenshot of the viral post

FINDINGS

Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.

Simon Ekpa is the self-acclaimed prime minister of the Biafra Republic Government in Exile, an Autopilot faction of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). He was arrested in Finland in November 2024 over allegations of terrorism-related offences and incitement in Nigeria’s South-East.

Following court proceedings, a Finnish court sentenced Ekpa to six years in prison in September 2025 for terrorism-related offences and ordered the confiscation of his assets. Ekpa has repeatedly denied sponsoring terrorism.

He subsequently appealed the judgment. Reuters reported in October 2025 that the East Finland Court of Appeal had received his appeal and that the case would be heard no earlier than April or May 2026. Reuters also confirmed that Ekpa had not been released following the filing of the appeal.

A report published on 7 August 2026 stated that Ekpa’s appeal hearing took place on Thursday, 6 August. According to the report, Ekpa appeared at the proceedings and maintained that he had been wrongly convicted, expressing confidence that the judgment would eventually be overturned. However, the report did not state that the court had acquitted him or overturned his conviction.

The FactCheckHub found no credible report confirming that Ekpa had been acquitted by the Finnish court. An acquittal or the overturning of his six-year terrorism-related conviction would be a significant development in a high-profile case involving a Nigerian separatist leader and would ordinarily attract widespread coverage from credible local and international media organisations.

VERDICT

The claim that Simon Ekpa was acquitted by a Finnish court is FALSE. Ekpa was sentenced to six years in prison in September 2025 and appeared at an appeal hearing in Finland on August 6 2026. Reports on the proceedings indicate that he was seeking to overturn his conviction; there is no credible evidence that he had been acquitted or that his sentence had been overturned.

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Nurudeen Akewushola is a fact-checker with FactCheckHub. He has authored several fact checks which have contributed to the fight against information disorder. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 via Twitter.

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