Ifeanyi Ejiofor, who previously led Nnamdi Kanu’s defence, has criticised the team that replaced him, accusing them of prioritising theatrics over legal strategy in a legal circus.
Gatekeepers News reports that Ejiofor said he felt compelled to speak after receiving an avalanche of calls from supporters disturbed by how the trial played out.
He alleged that his original team, which achieved landmark victories between 2015 and 2023 (including the 2022 Court of Appeal judgment that discharged Kanu), was derailed when Kanu allegedly shared sensitive strategy with clueless clowns.
Ejiofor warned that the new team reduced an internationally sensitive trial into a parody of legal representation. He said, “Legal actors reduced an internationally sensitive trial into a parody of legal representation.”
“A high-profile, internationally sensitive criminal trial is not a circus ring,” he said.
“But once these bloated, delusional entertainers-in-wigs inserted themselves into the process, everything degenerated into a grotesque parody of legal representation.”
“Instead of crafting legal strategy, they crafted Instagram stories. Instead of mastering case law, they mastered camera angles.”
“At every court session, their priority wasn’t research or preparation, it was posing, filming, updating, grandstanding, and going viral. Meanwhile, the accused man’s fate hung by a thread.”
The lawyer said their approach led to an avoidable outcome, as misinformation they spread online contradicted actual court proceedings, giving the prosecution opportunities to exploit.
Ejiofor questioned why senior lawyers like Kanu Agabi and Onyechi Ikpeazu were sidelined at the most critical moment of the trial. He added that the situation was
hijacked by mediocre adventurers intoxicated by social-media relevance.
The IPOB leader’s former counsel called for a reset; one grounded in competence, restraint, and less public spectacle.
He added that only after a comprehensive clean-up can respected legal experts intervene to repair the monumental damage.
