- Analyst blames Kanu’s former legal team for detention ordea
A public affairs analyst and legal practitioner, Barrister Christopher Chidera, has alleged that lapses by members of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s former legal team contributed to the prolonged detention of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra and influenced changes in his defence structure.
In a public briefing issued on Tuesday, Chidera claimed that critical legal errors committed after the Court of Appeal discharged Kanu in October 2022 paved the way for what he described as an unprecedented period of detention without fresh charges.
According to him, the Court of Appeal’s judgment of October 13, 2022, terminated the criminal proceedings against Kanu and carried the legal effect of an acquittal.
He alleged that despite the judgment, the Federal Government, through the then Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, filed what he described as an irregular civil stay of execution application before the same court.
Chidera argued that the application was entertained after the court had become functus officio, having exhausted its jurisdiction over the criminal appeal.
“The Federal Government’s refusal to obey the Court of Appeal’s discharge order amounted to contempt. The outcome was an unprecedented 14-month detention without fresh charge,” he said.
The analyst further alleged that the legal team, led by Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, with Ifeanyi Ejiofor serving as a key member and Kanu’s personal lawyer, failed to file a preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the stay application.
According to him, such a challenge could have compelled the court to first determine whether it had the authority to grant relief to a party allegedly acting in contempt of an existing discharge order.
“The legal team failed to file a Preliminary Objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the illegal civil stay. This failure removed a potent procedural barrier. Had the jurisdictional foundation been properly contested, the court would have been compelled to determine whether it could lawfully grant relief to a party in contempt of an extant discharge order,” he stated.
Chidera claimed that the failure to challenge the application created the conditions for subsequent proceedings that eventually resulted in Kanu’s conviction by a lower court on charges that had earlier been quashed and discharged by the Court of Appeal.
He described the development as one of the most extraordinary episodes in Nigeria’s judicial history and maintained that the omission proved fatal to Kanu’s legal battle.
The analyst also linked the alleged lapses to Ejiofor’s eventual removal from Kanu’s legal team.
He claimed that members of Kanu’s family, particularly his brothers, demanded accountability from those handling the case and called for the resignation of those responsible for the alleged errors.
Rather than accepting responsibility, Chidera alleged, Ejiofor launched a campaign of false and malicious allegations against Kanu’s relatives.
He further claimed that Ejiofor attempted to isolate Kanu by damaging relationships within his support network, including his wife, Uchechi Kanu, and members of what he described as the dissolved Kuje-appointed Third Administration.
According to him, social media platforms were flooded with accusations and character attacks while the alleged legal shortcomings that led to the changes in the defence team were concealed from the public.
“To this day, Ejiofor continues to issue public attacks on his former client without disclosing these fundamental shortcomings. This behaviour falls far short of the ethical standards required of legal practitioners,” Chidera alleged.
The lawyer said the appeal currently before the Court of Appeal raises significant questions regarding jurisdiction, fair hearing and compliance with appellate court orders.
He urged the public to focus on the legal issues at stake rather than personal disputes, insisting that the failure to challenge the stay application at its foundation enabled a chain of events that should never have occurred.
Chidera called on Ejiofor to provide what he described as a candid explanation to Kanu’s family, the legal profession and the public over the handling of the case.
He also urged the Court of Appeal to address what he termed the foundational irregularities in the matter, saying Nigeria’s justice system deserved transparency, accountability and strict adherence to the rule of law.
Efforts to obtain reactions from Ejiofor and other members of Kanu’s former legal team were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
