A video showing controversial Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa, exchanging pleasantries with people has surfaced online with a claim that he has been released from prison.
A Facebook account, Igbo Daily TV, posted the video with a caption: “See how Simon Ekpa was released and his followers were jubilating.”
The post has generated over 7,000 likes and more than 1,000 shares as of September 4, 2025.
CLAIM
Video shows Simon Ekpa after his release from prison.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MISLEADING.
Ekpa, a dual Finnish-Nigerian national, is a self-proclaimed leader of a faction of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a group that is pushing for the independence of Nigeria’s southeast, where a bloody civil war was fought in the late 1960s.
In November 2024, Simon Ekpa was apprehended in Finland amid terrorism-related investigations. Authorities detained him along with four others on suspicion of inciting violence and financing terrorism through his social media networks.
The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) froze his assets and those of his associates and companies linked to him. He was remanded into custody by the District Court of Päijät-Häme on suspicion of public incitement to commit terrorist acts.
Ekpa remained in custody. Checks by The FactCheckHub show that the viral video was shot in June during one of his appearances in the Päijät-Häme District Court.
Many of his followers who had been longing to see him out took the video out of context and started spreading it in Nigeria with a claim that he had been released.
Meanwhile, the last update on the matter was that on September 1, 2025, when the Finnish court convicted Ekpa and sentenced him to six years in prison.
The court found him guilty on all major counts, noting that between August 2021 and November 2024, he used his social media following to incite violence and facilitate the supply of weapons, explosives, and ammunition to separatist groups in Nigeria’s South-East.
The Federal Government of Nigeria and other officials hailed the sentencing as a landmark victory in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism. The Minister of Information, Chief of Defence Staff, and Enugu State Government commended Finnish authorities for their diligence. President Tinubu likewise praised the move, citing it as pivotal in reinforcing Nigeria’s unity and democratic values.
VERDICT
The claim that the video shows Simon Ekpa after release from detention is MISLEADING, as findings show that the Biafran agitator is imprisoned in Finland.
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.
