Nnamdi Kanu’s current legal representatives have attributed the ongoing incarceration of the IPOB leader to a critical error made by his former lawyers, Mike Ozekhome and Ifeanyi Ejiofor. The defence team claims that these attorneys failed to submit a preliminary objection against the federal government’s motion to stay the execution of a 2022 appellate court ruling that had initially ordered Kanu’s release.
In a statement released on Saturday by Christopher Chidera, the team emphasized that Kanu was effectively a free man following the October 13, 2022, Court of Appeal verdict, which declared his rendition from Kenya unlawful. According to Chidera, instead of challenging the federal government’s motion on jurisdictional grounds, Ozekhome and Ejiofor engaged in substantive arguments that ultimately allowed the court to grant a stay. This procedural failure resulted in Kanu remaining in DSS custody for over a year and paved the way for the Supreme Court to overturn his acquittal in December 2023.
The defence team characterized this inaction as professional negligence rather than a defeat based on legal merit. Chidera further accused Ejiofor of launching a smear campaign against Kanu’s family and former associates rather than addressing the procedural lapses. The statement asserts that the public and the legal community deserve transparency regarding why a fundamental jurisdictional challenge was never filed during the critical window of Kanu’s potential release.
