The political and legal community in Nigeria has been abuzz following a strongly worded statement from Ifeanyi Ejiofor, former lead counsel to IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, regarding the recent life sentence handed down to the separatist leader. Ejiofor has attributed Kanu’s conviction to what he describes as “amateur legal showmanship” by lawyers who took over the case after his departure in December 2024.
In the statement, released on Saturday, Ejiofor lamented that Kanu’s legal team after his exit was ill-equipped to manage the intricacies of a high-profile terrorism trial. He called the new team “clueless clowns” and “entertainers in wigs,” asserting that their focus was more on gaining social media fame than on employing rigorous legal strategy. According to Ejiofor, their approach turned a sensitive judicial process into a public spectacle, undermining the solid groundwork laid by his former team.
“Instead of crafting a legal strategy, they crafted Instagram stories. Instead of mastering case law, they mastered camera angles,” Ejiofor said, emphasizing that the case required discipline, confidentiality, and expert advocacy, none of which, he claimed, were demonstrated by the new lawyers.
Kanu was recently sentenced to life imprisonment by a Federal High Court in Abuja after being found guilty on seven terrorism-related charges. The verdict has reignited debates and discussions across the South-East, as supporters question the competence and strategy of the legal team handling the case post-Ejiofor’s departure.
Ejiofor, who represented Kanu from his first arrest in 2015 until December 2024, highlighted that the legal team had previously achieved significant successes, including the Court of Appeal’s 2022 ruling that discharged and acquitted Kanu over his unlawful rendition from Kenya. However, the Federal Government subsequently secured a stay of execution, keeping Kanu in detention despite the appellate court’s favorable ruling. According to Ejiofor, these earlier accomplishments were the result of “sustained pressure, strategic diplomacy, and airtight legal manoeuvring.”
[/p]The former lead counsel alleged that after his withdrawal, confidential strategies and sensitive case details were leaked to individuals lacking proper understanding of the legal nuances. This, he claimed, caused internal conflicts and a collapse of the structure his team had carefully built over years of legal battle. Ejiofor warned that the continued handling of the case by inexperienced hands could jeopardize the chances of future legal relief for Kanu.
He urged that seasoned legal professionals be engaged immediately to re-strategize and adopt a less public, more focused approach. “This is not the time for comedy,” Ejiofor stressed. “It is time for competence. Time for real advocacy. The life of Nnamdi Kanu and the rule of law demand nothing less.”
Ejiofor’s statement has sparked widespread discussion among legal practitioners, political analysts, and human rights activists, many of whom have echoed calls for a professional, disciplined, and strategically minded approach in handling high-profile cases with national and international implications. It also raises pressing questions about the importance of maintaining confidentiality, strategic planning, and professional integrity in legal representation for politically sensitive cases in Nigeria.