RismadarVoice Reporters, July 28, 2026
Human rights lawyer and counsel to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has dismissed claims linking him to the recent legal representation of IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, insisting that he voluntarily withdrew from Kanu’s defence team in December 2023.
Ejiofor, in a statement issued on Tuesday, said he had not represented Kanu “in any capacity whatsoever” since his disengagement, stressing that any suggestion to the contrary was false and intended to mislead the public.
According to him, his withdrawal occurred long before Kanu’s conviction and subsequent life imprisonment, adding that he had neither acted as Kanu’s private counsel nor represented his family since December 2023.
The lawyer, however, clarified that his law firm has remained on the legal team retained by IPOB, separate from Kanu’s personal legal representation.
He disclosed that, under that mandate, his firm successfully secured the discharge and acquittal of more than 200 alleged IPOB members after full trials at the Federal High Court in Abuja, as well as the High Courts of Ebonyi and Abia states between December 2023 and 2025.
Ejiofor maintained that the records of those cases are publicly available and verifiable.
He further stated that Kanu did not personally appoint his firm as solicitors to IPOB, explaining that Kanu’s only role was in relation to his previous engagement as Kanu’s personal lawyer before the firm’s withdrawal from that assignment.
The senior lawyer also said IPOB had reaffirmed his firm’s appointment as the organisation’s legal representatives, insisting that the professional relationship remains valid and cannot be altered by former leaders of the group.
Ejiofor also cautioned against relying on unauthenticated communications purportedly issued by inmates, citing provisions of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act.
He said any correspondence claimed to originate from a convicted inmate or detainee must be duly authenticated by the officer in charge of the relevant correctional facility before it can be regarded as official.
He urged legal practitioners and the media to verify such communications in line with established legal and administrative procedures, rather than relying on unauthorised documents.
