Kanu shops for new lawyer as leadership crisis hits legal team
3 min read
Nnamdi Kanu in court
Leadership crisis has rocked the legal team of the leader of the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB); Nnamdi Kanu, as he continues his terrorism case with the federal government.
According to a report by Leadership Newspaper, Kanu has expressed worry over the seemly clash in his legal team over who is to lead the council in order to succeed at the court in the ongoing terrorism case with the federal government.
The embattled IPOB leader also expressed worry that the infighting within the legal team has prevented the team from presenting a formidable case and led to the dwindling of his popularity as even the sit-at-home order is not effective in some part of the southeast again.
Kanu, who is not happy with the situation, is threatening to replace the them with another set as he feels that some of his team members are fleecing him and not interested in securing his release.
While one of the lawyers is pressumed to be more popular with the IPOB and the southeast and should lead the team, another one, who is more popular within the country, believes he should lead the team.
Also, other members of the team are reportedly not comfortable with the leadership of the council and Kanu has complained bitterly about that.
This came after Kanu’s American lawyer, Bruce Fein, had written to Ifeanyi Ejiofor, a member of Kanu’s legal team, urging him to immediately refrain from representing the IPOB leader.
In the letter, earlier in the year, Fein noted that Ejiofor was not eligible to defend Kanu against the Nigerian government’s amended charges in the court, citing a pending lawsuit instituted by a businessman against Ejiofor over an alleged fraud of N5.6 million.
Part of the letter reads, “How can you be blind to what all the world can see and understand?
“According to the public record, you have a blatant conflict of interest in representing Nnamdi Kanu to defend against the federal government of Nigeria’s amended charges in the Federal High Court of Nigeria, Abuja Judicial Division Holden in Abuja, Charge No: FHC/ABJ/CR/383/2015 in violation of Rule 10 of the Nigerian Rules of Professional Conduct.
“The public record shows you have a conflicting interest to sabotage Nnamdi Kanu’s defense in exchange for leniency or a pardon in the pending fraud prosecution against you in FRN v. IFEANYI EJIOFOR & 2 ORS, CHARGE NO. CR/950/2020, Court No. 3, FCT High Court, Maitama, before Hon. Justice M.E. Anenih.
“The public record establishes that the fraud charges were not concocted by the FGN to preempt your representation of Nnamdi Kanu. The record shows the charges were triggered by a complaint from a private businessman with no political or other ulterior motive to defame or handicap you: Okpala Comas Ikechukwu.
“Among other things, he stated in a complaint to the Economic & Financial Crimes Commission that you defrauded him of N5,600,000.00 by conspiring to represent forged land or title documents as authentic.”
Meanwhile, Leadership investigation has also revealed that frustrated by the way the court judgment recently delivered against Kanu, which gave government power to keep detaining him and continue with the court cases, there are plans by the IPOB leader and it’s leadership to commission media and public campaign against the judges in a bid to get better judgement in the future.
The plan is to get public sympathy and cajole judges to give favorable judgement in favour of Kanu.
