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FG hails Ekpa’s conviction, says it is a ‘major victory for Nigeria against terror,’
The Federal Government has described the conviction of Simon Ekpa for terrorism-related offences and other charges by a Finnish Court as “a major victory” against terrorism.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, stated this while reacting to Ekpa’s sentencing to six years in prison by the Päijät-Häme District Court in Finland on Monday.
“We welcome the news of Simon Ekpa’s conviction by a Finnish 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,” Mohammed wrote on his official handle on X.
Ekpa was found guilty of participating in the activities of a terrorist group, inciting the public to commit crimes for terrorist purposes, engaging in aggravated tax fraud, and violating the Lawyers Act.
The court ordered that he remain in custody.
The judges found that he supplied these groups with weapons, explosives, and ammunition, and encouraged followers on X (formerly Twitter) to commit crimes in Nigeria.
The trial, which ran from May 30 to June 25, 2025, included 12 days of hearings, with a panel of three judges unanimously delivering the verdict.
According to the ruling reported by a Finnish newspaper, Yle, the three-member panel of judges, in a unanimous ruling, also stated that Ekpa was an influential member of a militant separatist movement whose goal was to actualise the secession of a Biafran state from Nigeria.
The district court, as reported by Yle, further stated that Ekpa supplied these groups with “weapons, explosives, and ammunition” through his network of contacts in the region, and that he was also found to have encouraged his followers on the social media platform X to “commit crimes” in Nigeria.
A long-term resident of Lahti and one-time local councillor, Ekpa reportedly committed the crimes from the Finnish city, according to the verdict, giving the Finnish court jurisdiction in the case.
He had denied all the charges in court.
However, the district court’s verdict is not final, as it can be appealed to a higher court.
Ekpa was arrested in December 2024 after Finnish authorities accused him of spreading separatist propaganda and inciting violence through social media.
Obi, in a statement via his X-Handle on Tuesday, described the trend as “a sad reflection of how deep our national decay has become,” warning that the infiltration of criminal networks into the logistics sector exposes the weakness of Nigeria’s regulatory and security institutions.
“When criminal groups can freely use delivery companies to move drugs across the country, it shows how fragile our systems have become,” Obi said.
He lamented that despite repeated warnings from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the situation continues to worsen — a reality he attributed to corruption, weak oversight, and institutional compromise.
“The NDLEA has raised this concern many times, yet the problem persists. It is being fuelled by poor regulation and a culture of impunity that has turned law enforcement into a mere formality,” he added.
Obi described drug trafficking as a grave national and international crime that destroys families, fuels insecurity, and erodes societal values. He cautioned that a nation already struggling with unemployment, hunger, and insecurity cannot afford to normalise drug use or trade.
“Drug trafficking is not just an offence against the law — it is an offence against our conscience as a people. A drug-normalised society cannot progress,” he said.
Calling for stronger oversight and a renewed commitment to integrity in governance, Obi urged Nigerian leaders to rebuild institutions grounded in truth, accountability, and justice.
“Nigeria must rise above this dangerous decline and rebuild a system where laws are sacred, leaders are accountable, and no one is above justice. Our nation will only heal when character and responsibility return to governance,” Obi stated. (The Guardian)
Military investigators probing an alleged plot to overthrow President Bola Tinubu are reportedly grilling a Managing Director of a Federal Government agency in the South South region.
According to a report by The PUNCH, two intelligence officers confirmed that the MD was arrested for allegedly transferring a huge sum of money to a former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, who was fingered as one of the financiers of the alleged plot to forcefully change the government.
According to reports, investigators believe the funds were meant to finance the coup.
“The MD (name withheld) transferred a huge sum of money to Sylva. Investigators are working on the theory that the fund transfer was connected to the coup. He is presently answering questions about what the money was meant for.”
Also arrested, according to the paper, are the younger brother of former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, and his driver.
The former Bayelsa governor’s Abuja house was reportedly raided by investigators on Saturday, with military operatives arresting his younger brother, Paga, who is his Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs and went away with his driver.
The former minister and All Progressives Congress chieftain was outside the country during the operation.
Sources with knowledge of the operation explained that he was planning to return to the country when he heard that the coup leaders had been arrested. He thus shelved his plan to return home.
“Sylva’s Abuja home was raided on Saturday, but he wasn’t around. His younger brother, Paga, who is the SA, Domestic, and the driver, were arrested. Investigators believe Sylva allegedly funded the coup plot. Sylva was abroad and was preparing to leave for Nigeria when he got wind of the arrest of the coup leaders. So, he stayed back.”
The Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj-Gen Markus Kangye, and the Director of Defence Information, Brig-Gen Tukur Gusau, could not be reached for comments on Tuesday as they didn’t pick up calls from our reporter.
Gusau had, in a statement on October 4, said that 16 officers were detained for breaches of military regulations and acts of indiscipline.
“The Armed Forces of Nigeria wishes to inform the public that a routine military exercise has resulted in the arrest of sixteen officers over issues of indiscipline and breach of service regulations.
“Investigations have revealed that their grievances stemmed largely from perceived career stagnation caused by repeated failure in promotion examinations,” the statement partly read.
However, online platform SaharaReporters claimed that the detained officers — ranging from the rank of Captain to Brigadier General —were being held by the Defence Intelligence Agency for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government.
It also alleged that the officers were arrested at their homes across the country.
“The 16 officers were planning a coup. The military authorities were just being diplomatic in the statement released by the spokesperson. They have started holding secret meetings on how to overthrow the President and other top government officials,” SaharaReporters quoted an unnamed official. (The PUNCH)
The House of Representatives on Tuesday raised concern over growing security threats to the National Assembly, including a terrorist threat to bomb the legislative complex.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Internal Security, Garba Ibrahim Muhammad, disclosed this during a public hearing on a bill to establish the Legislative Security Directorate, held at the National Assembly complex, Abuja.
The proposed legislation is titled “A bill for an act to provide for the establishment and the functions of legislative security directorate in the national assembly; to provide for the qualification and condition of service of the sergeant-at-arms and other personnel of the directorate and for related matters, 2024 (hb 1632)”.
Muhammad said intelligence reports and security incidents in recent months revealed that the National Assembly had increasingly become a targeted for criminal and terrorist attacks.
The lawmaker noted that the influx of people into the complex daily, including visitors, lobbyists, and demonstrators, had made it a vulnerable target.
He said: “The National Assembly is going through a lot of security challenges; we have experienced car thefts, motorcycle thefts, vandalism, fake Identity cards, unwanted visitors accessing the National Assembly without documentation, as well as petty trading, which makes the National Assembly look like a small market.
“We have received threats from terrorists to bomb the National Assembly Complex and threats from protesters to lock up the National Assembly. Legislators are exposed to threats from constituents and others who have gained easy access to their offices without any formal appointment
He warned that with the ongoing security challenges, if proper measures were not taken, it would truncate the legislative activities in the National Assembly.
“It is obvious that with the ongoing security challenges, if proper measures are not taken, will truncate the Legislative activities in the National Assembly and if activities are thwarted, there will be no Representation, no oversight, no Annual budget, there will be no plenary at all, and that will destabilise legislative procedure, democracy and the stability of the system, and our Nation at large.
“Effective security management needs a total approach that requires various elements to be integrated to secure our environment for legislative procedure to function effectively and maximally.
“That is why this Bill is very important, because it seeks to address all the challenges as aforesaid and adopt world best practices of Parliamentary security procedures and architecture.”
He also urged state Houses of Assembly to emulate the National Assembly by adopting similar security frameworks to safeguard their legislative environments.
The proposed Legislative Security Directorate Bill (HB 1632) seeks to provide a legal framework for the establishment of a specialised internal security agency within the National Assembly.
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