Kanu’s Conviction Sabotaged By ‘Amateur Legal Showmen’ — Former Counsel
Former lead counsel to IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has accused what he called “amateur legal showmen” of sabotaging a legal strategy that could have prevented Kanu’s life imprisonment.
Ejiofor, who handled Kanu’s case from 2015 until December 2023, said the “social-media-driven lawyers” led the IPOB leader into a “judicial ambush.”
Justice James Omotosho sentenced Kanu on Thursday to life in prison for terrorism, incitement, treasonable felony, and illegal importation of a radio transmitter.
According to Ejiofor, the defence team was close to a major breakthrough following the 2022 Court of Appeal ruling that discharged and acquitted Kanu. But sensitive details of the strategy were leaked to what he described as “clueless clowns” posing as legal consultants, who then disrupted the plan.
“Instead of supporting a strategy they barely understood, they derailed the entire process. We left the team gloriously, with our integrity intact,” Ejiofor said.
He accused the new lawyers of putting social media above legal preparation. “Instead of crafting legal strategy, they crafted Instagram stories. Instead of mastering case law, they mastered camera angles. Their priority was posing, filming, and going viral,” he said.
Ejiofor also said Kanu was encouraged to take over parts of his defence despite court warnings—a move he called catastrophic.
He questioned why respected senior advocates like Chief Kanu Agabi and Chief Onyechi Ikpeazu were abandoned at a critical stage.
“Who replaces world-class physicians with herbal storytellers during brain surgery? Only a system preparing for disaster,” he wrote.
He called for a full overhaul of Kanu’s defence, warning that no rescue effort could work unless the damage by the “self-advertising jesters” was first fixed. Ejiofor insisted he left the case “with integrity intact,” but said the avoidable errors led to a devastating outcome.
Titilope Adako is a talented and intrepid journalist, dedicated to shedding light on the untold stories of Osun State and Nigeria. Through incisive reporting, she tackles a broad spectrum of topics, from politics and social justice to culture and entertainment, with a commitment to accuracy, empathy, and inspiring positive change.
