Terrorism: Nigeria Hails Finland’s Conviction Of Simon Ekpa
The Federal Government has hailed the conviction of Biafran irredentist, Simon Ekpa, for terrorism-related crimes in Finland.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, in a post on his verified X handle, @HMMohammed, described the sentencing of Ekpa to six years imprisonment as a major victory for the Nigerian people in the collective fight against terror.
Idris in the post stated inter alia: “We welcome the news of Simon Ekpa’s conviction by a Finland court for terrorism-related crimes, and his sentencing to six years in prison.
“A major victory for the Nigerian people in the collective fight against terror.”
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has also called on Nigerian judges and prosecutors to take a cue from Finland, following the speedy trial and conviction of Simon Ekpa on terrorism-related charges.
According to the judgment, Ekpa was found guilty of participating in a terrorist organisation and publicly incited crimes for terrorist purposes.
Ekpa, who is based in Finland, is known for being behind the enforcement of a sit-at-home order every Monday in the South-east in solidarity with the actualization of a Biafra nation and also in protest of the continued detention of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mr Nnamdi Kanu.
Reacting to the conviction, the President of the NBA, Mazi Afam Osigwe (SAN), who said he was yet to get full details of the Finland court judgment, stated that he was very impressed with the short time it took to conclude the investigation and trial.
Osigwe stated this while presenting the communiqué from the NBA’s Annual General Conference (AGC), which held in Enugu recently.
“I look at the time it took to do the trial,
and the sort of evidence relied on by the court for them to arrive at a decision. That should be a lesson for us,” he said.
The NBA president noted that trials take a longer time in Nigeria because “most judges still write longhand” instead of embracing technology, adding that investigators and prosecutors should endeavour to get enough evidence, build up a good case before going to court.
Osigwe also called on security agencies to awake to their responsibilities in checking abuse of social media, adding that: “Persons who have access to social media should be careful how they utilize them to promote hate or terrorism.”
He said: “We should look at those who are using it to provide ethnic hatred, to promote terrorism, and get hold of such, and try them,” rather than filing cyber-bullying charge against citizens in political matters.
