Ex-lawyer Ejiofor dares Nnamdi Kanu, says he remains IPOB counsel

Ifeanyi Ejiofor, who previously represented Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has responded to Kanu's recent disengagement notice. Kanu had sent a letter dated July 22, informing Ejiofor of his dismissal as personal lawyer and warning him against making public statements or acting on his behalf or the group's behalf.

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For the avoidance of doubt, and for the sake of clarity, I wish to state unequivocally that I personally disengaged myself from the legal representation of Nnamdi Kanu in any capacity since December 2023, long before his eventual conviction and the subsequent sentence to life imprisonment.

Ejiofor stated in a Facebook post that he had personally withdrawn from representing Kanu in any capacity since December 2023, prior to Kanu's conviction and life sentence. However, Ejiofor maintains that he continues to serve as the legal representative for IPOB, citing a continuous retainership as the group's solicitors.

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In the exercise of our professional rights and responsibilities as legal practitioners, we have, throughout the relevant period, remained in effective and continuous retainership as solicitors to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

He further claimed that his team has successfully secured the discharge and acquittal of over 200 individuals accused of IPOB membership in various high courts across Nigeria between December 2023 and 2025. Ejiofor emphasized that Kanu did not independently appoint them as IPOB's attorneys; his involvement was solely as Kanu's personal lawyer, a role from which Ejiofor formally disengaged in December 2023.

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For the avoidance of doubt, Nnamdi Kanu never independently appointed us as attorneys to the IPOB. His limited involvement in our appointment was solely in his capacity as his personal lawyer, from which we had, since December 2023, formally disengaged our services.

The situation is complicated by recent leadership changes within IPOB. Kanu had reportedly dissolved the IPOB Directorate of the State (DOS), led by Chika Edoziem, and appointed a new leader. Subsequently, Edoziem announced Kanu's suspension as IPOB leader. In response, Edoziem, claiming to have re-emerged as the directorate leader, issued a letter dated July 27, 2026, reaffirming Ejiofor's appointment as IPOB's general legal counsel.

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Reaffirmation of appointment as IPOB legal representative