A former lead counsel to jailed Indigenous People of Biafra leader, Nnamdi Kanu, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has blamed Thursday’s conviction of the separatist leader on what he described as “amateur legal showmanship” and “social-media theatrics” by individuals who later took over the defence.
Ejiofor, who led Kanu’s legal team for nearly a decade before withdrawing from the case in 2024, alleged in a statement on Saturday that the trial was pushed into a “judicial ambush” due to the actions of people he called “clueless clowns” and “entertainers in wigs.”
Kanu was on Thursday sentenced to life imprisonment by a Federal High Court in Abuja after being convicted on seven terrorism-related charges.
His conviction has continued to generate nationwide reactions, particularly in the South-East, where political and socio-cultural leaders have renewed calls for dialogue and a political resolution.
Ejiofor began representing Kanu following his first arrest in 2015.
Over the years, several Senior Advocates of Nigeria, including Chief Kanu Agabi and Chief Mike Ozekhome, also joined the defence at various stages.
In October 2022, the Court of Appeal discharged and acquitted Kanu, ruling that his extraordinary rendition from Kenya was unlawful.
However, the Federal Government successfully obtained a stay of execution, which kept him in detention while the trial continued.
Following internal disagreements within the defence team, Ejiofor formally withdrew in December 2024, handing over to Ozekhome, who had taken over leadership in 2022.
In his statement, Ejiofor claimed that before his exit, the defence was close to achieving a new legal success following the Court of Appeal judgment.
According to him, “sustained pressure, strategic diplomacy, and airtight legal manoeuvring” had positioned the team for another major relief, but strategic information was allegedly leaked to individuals he said lacked understanding of the complexity of the case.
He accused these individuals of derailing ongoing engagements and “treacherously orchestrating a change in the status quo,” resulting in the dissolution of the legal arrangement he helped build.
Ejiofor criticised what he described as the encouragement of self-representation and the prioritisation of social-media content over legal preparation.
“Instead of crafting a legal strategy, they crafted Instagram stories. Instead of mastering case law, they mastered camera angles,” he said, adding that their actions created contradictions and inconsistencies that prosecutors documented and later used against Kanu.
He also lamented the withdrawal of experienced senior lawyers from the case, questioning why “globally respected legal minds” were “disengaged at the most critical moment.”
With Kanu now facing life imprisonment, Ejiofor said any meaningful rescue effort would require “cleaning up the monumental damage” and drastically reducing publicity around the case.
He called for renewed engagement by seasoned legal experts and a strategic, less public approach going forward.
“This is not the time for comedy,” he said. “It is time for competence. Time for real advocacy.”
(Source: Punch except the headline)
