The Department of State Services (DSS) has filed terrorism charges against seven alleged commanders of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), accused of being linked to the jailed Finland-based separatist, Simon Ekpa.

The charges were instituted in three separate suits, FHC/ABJ/CR/632/2025, FHC/ABJ/CR/633/2025, and FHC/ABJ/CR/634/2025, before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday, November 19, 2025.

DSS Deputy Director of Public Relations and Strategic Communications, Favour Dozie, confirmed the development in a statement issued to journalists on Thursday.

Ekpa, a 40-year-old Nigerian-born Finnish national and former municipal politician from Lahti, was convicted in Finland on September 1, 2025, and sentenced to six years in prison for terrorism-related offences, including participation in a terrorist organisation, incitement to commit terrorism, aggravated tax fraud, and violations of the Lawyers Act.

According to Dozie, the seven suspects in Nigeria are accused of receiving funds and other support from Ekpa and foreign-based IPOB members to facilitate the group’s activities in the South-East.

One of the accused, Ibrahim Ali Larabo, described as an illegal immigrant from Niger, allegedly ran an unlicensed Bureau De Change, providing financial services for the Ekpa-led faction, including receiving and disbursing large sums to fund IPOB operations.

“The suspects were established to function as IPOB commanders, arms couriers, arms dealers, Eastern Security Network fighters, and foot soldiers, all directed and funded by Simon Ekpa,” the DSS statement said.

In addition to the Ekpa-linked cases, Dozie reported that the DSS recently secured the conviction of a terrorist known as Ismaila (aka Mai Tangaran), who coordinated the 2012 attacks on the Police Headquarters in Bompai, Kano, and other locations.

Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced him to 15 years on one count and 20 years on three others, to run concurrently, concluding a trial that began in 2017.

Dozie also noted that trials for two internationally wanted suspects, Mahmud Muhammad Usman (Mamuda) and Abubakar Abba (Abu Baara), are set to resume on January 15, 2026, while the prosecution of Khalid Al-Barnawi, accused of masterminding the UN complex bombing on August 26, 2011, continues.

“Barnawi and four others are being tried for the attack, alongside five additional suspects arraigned on a nine-count charge for the June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State,” Dozie added.

The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, has expressed optimism that the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, could be freed through a political resolution.

Kalu’s remarks come after a Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced Kanu to life imprisonment on Thursday.

Despite the court’s judgment, the Deputy Speaker assured that all hope for Kanu’s release is not lost.

According to Kalu, efforts are now underway to explore political channels that had previously been constrained while the matter was before the courts.

He emphasized the importance of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s intervention, expressing confidence that the President would be receptive to appeals from well-meaning leaders of the South-East region.

“It is now time to explore political solutions that had been hindered because the matter was before the court. But now that the court has finished, it is time to intensify requests for the President’s intervention, and we are sure that the President is not averse to it. We are going to get it. All hope is not lost. Our people should remain calm,” Kalu said.

The Deputy Speaker urged residents of the South-East and Nigerians nationwide to remain calm, noting that ongoing political efforts could pave the way for a peaceful resolution.

The statement was issued by Levinus Nwabughiogu, Chief Press Secretary to the Deputy Speaker, emphasizing the House leadership’s commitment to pursuing a diplomatic and political approach in addressing the matter.

Nnamdi Kanu’s legal team has strongly rejected the life sentence issued by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, condemning the ruling as a blatant miscarriage of justice and announcing plans to file an appeal without delay.

The IPOB leader was convicted on Thursday on terrorism-related charges, but his lawyers insist the decision is fundamentally flawed.

Speaking to reporters after the judgment, Kanu’s special counsel, Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, described the ruling as one of the darkest moments in Nigeria’s judicial record.

“Today is historic for all the wrong reasons. I’ve never seen someone convicted solely for what he said, not for any action he took,”
Ejimakor stated.

He argued that the prosecution failed to present evidence linking Kanu’s statements to any act of violence.

“The verdict does not align with the evidence before the court. The sentence is excessive, disproportionate, and entirely unjust,”
he said.

Ejimakor questioned how Kanu could be convicted over broadcasts allegedly made from an unspecified location, broadcasts that prosecutors did not successfully connect to any actual incident, violent or otherwise.

He maintained that Kanu’s push for self-determination is not a crime.

“Demanding a separate nation is not terrorism. In today’s Nigeria, it seems you can be convicted simply for speaking. Kanu made broadcasts, so what? Convicting him of terrorism for mere words sets a dangerous precedent.”

The legal team said they would immediately pursue an appeal.

“We move straight to the Court of Appeal. We trust the justices there to carefully review what happened today,” Ejimakor said.

“If the appeal fails, we will go to the Supreme Court. By God’s grace, this conviction will not stand.”

Another defence lawyer, Barrister Maxwell Okpara, also criticised the ruling, accusing the court of allowing emotions rather than legal principles to dictate the outcome.

He urged residents of the South-East to remain calm and avoid violent reactions.

Okpara expressed confidence that higher courts will overturn what he described as a grave injustice.

In a landmark judgment that brings a long-running legal battle to a dramatic close, Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court has sentenced Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu, to life imprisonment.

The ruling was delivered on Thursday, four years after Kanu was controversially arrested in Kenya and returned to Nigeria to face trial.

Kanu, who faced seven terrorism-related charges, was not present in the courtroom at the time the sentence was read.

Earlier, he had objected to the continuation of the trial, insisting that the terrorism allegations should not be entertained by the court.

Tension rose during the proceedings when Justice Omotosho ordered security personnel to forcibly remove him from the courtroom over what was described as “unruly conduct.”

In delivering the judgment, Justice Omotosho held that multiple broadcasts made by Kanu through Radio Biafra amounted to acts of terrorism, noting that his statements promoted violence and constituted direct incitement.

He further ruled that the sit-at-home directives enforced across the South-East on Kanu’s orders infringed on citizens’ rights and qualified as terrorism.

“The defendant had no constitutional authority to impose restrictions on citizens,” the judge said.

“Evidence before the court shows that preparatory acts of terrorism were executed through broadcasts encouraging attacks on security forces.”

The court subsequently convicted Kanu on all seven counts, despite his earlier plea of not guilty.