Ifeanyi Ejiofor, a former counsel to detained Nnamdi Kanu, has stated that he voluntarily withdrew from Kanu’s personal legal team in December 2023, nearly three years before Kanu’s recent directive terminating his legal services.
According to Ejiofor, he has not represented Kanu personally or acted as counsel for his family since that time. He described claims that he continued to serve as Kanu’s personal lawyer as inaccurate.
However, Ejiofor stressed that his law firm remains on a valid retainer as legal representatives of the Indigenous People of Biafra. He said the firm has successfully secured the discharge and acquittal of more than 200 individuals accused of being IPOB members in courts across Abuja, Ebonyi, and Abia States between 2023 and 2025.
He also argued that while Kanu had engaged him as his personal lawyer, Kanu did not solely appoint the firm as IPOB’s legal representatives. Consequently, he said the organization’s continuing legal relationship with his firm cannot be unilaterally terminated by Kanu.
Ejiofor further questioned the authenticity of communications purportedly issued by inmates, citing provisions of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act that require correspondence from correctional facilities to be properly authenticated by prison authorities. He advised lawyers and the public to exercise caution when relying on such communications.
The statement followed a letter dated July 22, reportedly issued by Kanu from the Sokoto Correctional Centre, in which he directed Ejiofor to stop representing him, his family, and IPOB, withdraw from all pending matters involving him, and refrain from issuing public statements on their behalf. Kanu also warned that any unauthorized disclosure of confidential information from their former lawyer-client relationship could amount to professional misconduct and attract disciplinary action before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC).
