Finland-based Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa, has appointed a new legal representative ahead of his June 2025 trial in Finland.
The new legal representative was identified as Kaarle Gummerus.
According to BBC Pidgin, the embattled Biafra agitator recently changed his legal counsel due to the retirement of his former lawyer.
His new legal representative, Kaarle Gummerus, confirmed that he had received the pre-trial file and is “currently checking through” the case materials.
Ekpa, who holds dual citizenship of Nigeria and Finland, was arrested in November 2024 by Finnish law enforcement agents. He was later remanded in prison by the district court of Päijät-Häme on allegations of spreading terrorist propaganda via social media.
Authorities in Finland alleged that Ekpa committed the offences in 2021, while residing in the Lahti municipality. He is accused of using his social media platforms to incite violence and instigate terror in southeastern Nigeria.
Despite repeated calls by Nigerian authorities for Ekpa’s extradition, Finland has not granted the request. The Finnish government has maintained that Ekpa would be prosecuted under its own laws due to the gravity of the charges and his citizenship status.
In March 2025 ,President Bola Tinubu approved the designation of Finland-based Biafra nation agitator, Simon Ekpa and 15 others as terrorism financiers.
Consequently, the Attorney General of the Federation(AGF), and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, also listed the indicted Nigerians and certain entities on the Nigeria Sanctions List.
At the Nigeria Sanctions Committee meeting on March 16, 2025, the Nigerian government invoked Section 54 of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, to take action against those indicted for alleged acts of terrorism against the country.
By invoking the Act, the Nigeria Sanctions Committee had been mandated to immediately identify and freeze, without prior notice, all funds, assets, and any other economic resources belonging to the designated individuals, in possession of banks, and report the same to the Sanctions Committee.
