Breaking: What Simon Ekpa’s 6-Year Sentence Means — Could Finland Strip His Citizenship?
Quick summary: A Finnish court has sentenced Simon Ekpa to six years in prison on terrorism-related charges. Under Finland’s Nationality/Citizenship rules, a naturalised citizen convicted of treason, high treason or a terrorist offence can lose Finnish citizenship — and if that happens, the person may be removed from Finland and returned to the country of their other nationality.
What did the court decide?
On the criminal side, Finnish courts found Simon Ekpa guilty of offences linked to terrorism and sentenced him to six years’ imprisonment. This conviction and sentence are the immediate legal facts from the criminal trial.
Does Finnish law allow loss of citizenship for these crimes?
Yes. Finnish law includes provisions that allow loss (revocation) of Finnish citizenship for people who are naturalised citizens and have been convicted of very serious crimes such as treason, high treason or terrorism. The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) explains that a naturalised citizen may lose citizenship if they have been sentenced for such offences or attempts/complicity in them.
What happens after citizenship is revoked — will Finland “hand him over” to Nigeria?
If Finnish citizenship is annulled and the person has another nationality (for example Nigerian), the practical consequence is that the person no longer has a legal right to remain in Finland on the basis of Finnish citizenship. In such cases, immigration authorities can make a deportation (removal) decision and the police or border guard will carry out the removal if the person does not leave voluntarily. That is the standard administrative route after residency rights are lost.
Bottom line
There is a clear legal route under Finnish law for a naturalised person to lose citizenship for treason/terrorism, and there is a separate administrative removal process that would normally follow loss of citizenship. But loss of citizenship requires administrative action (and can be appealed), and removal is an administrative deportation process with its own safeguards. So while the headline “he will be stripped of Finnish citizenship and handed to Nigeria” is legally plausible under the rules, the real-world result depends on final criminal judgments, formal administrative decisions, available appeals, and practical/diplomatic arrangements.