A member of the International Consortium of Lawyers for Nnamdi Kanu, Christopher Chidera, has accused Kanu’s lead lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, and Mike Ozekhome, SAN, of professional negligence in handling the Federal Government’s “stay of execution” application in 2022, alleging that a failure to challenge the court’s jurisdiction paved the way for Kanu’s eventual conviction.
He recalled in a statement shared with NEWSNGR on Sunday that on October 13, 2022, the Court of Appeal unanimously discharged Kanu, ruling his rendition from Kenya illegal and stripping the Federal High Court of jurisdiction over the case, effectively quashing the charges against him.
“On October 13, 2022, Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was a free man. The Court of Appeal had unanimously discharged him, declaring his extraordinary rendition from Kenya illegal and stripping the Federal High Court of jurisdiction.
“The charges were quashed. The case was over. Freedom was minutes away,” he said.
He alleged that when the Federal Government filed what he described as an unusual civil “stay of execution” application to block Kanu’s release, the defence team failed to file a preliminary objection challenging the court’s jurisdiction to entertain a civil remedy in a criminal matter.”
He emphasised that, “They had the ammunition,” arguing, “a stay of execution is a civil remedy for money judgments – not a mechanism to suspend a criminal discharge.”
He explained that, “The Court of Appeal had already become functus officio, having fully determined the criminal appeal.”
“The Federal Government” he said, “was in contempt of an extant court order refusing to release Kanu,” arguing that “The law was clear. Yet, Ifeanyi Ejiofor and Mike Ozekhome, SAN, failed to act.”
According to Chidera, the defence team instead engaged with the substance of the application rather than contesting the court’s authority to hear it, a decision he claimed led directly to the stay being granted by a different Court of Appeal panel using civil procedure rules to nullify a criminal discharge, leaving Kanu in DSS custody for 14 months without fresh charges.
“Instead of filing that jurisdictional challenge, what did they do? They responded to AGF Malami’s theatrics, filing counter-affidavits and debating the merits of the stay rather than striking at the heart: the court’s jurisdiction to even hear it,” he said.
He further alleged that the unchallenged stay set the stage for the Supreme Court to reverse Kanu’s discharge on December 15, 2023, resulting in his conviction and life sentence on charges he said had already been quashed by a superior court.
Chidera also accused Ejiofor of deflecting accountability when Kanu’s family sought answers, alleging a campaign to discredit Kanu’s brothers and mislead his wife rather than acknowledging what he called a procedural failure.
“When Kanu’s family demanded accountability, Ejiofor did not accept responsibility. Instead, he launched a smear campaign against Kanu’s brothers, poisoned relationships, and fed falsehoods to Kanu’s wife.
“He continues to attack his former client publicly while concealing his fundamental procedural failure,” he alleged.
He was particularly critical of Ejiofor’s public conduct since the conviction, referencing an offer the lawyer reportedly made to law students.
“Today, Ejiofor and his team ‘mastered camera angles’ while Kanu rots in detention, convicted on charges that should never have been revived.
“He offered ₦1 million to any law student who could show a precedent for staying a criminal discharge.
“He should have demanded a refund from his lawyers,” he said.
Chidera insisted the matter was one of professional accountability rather than legal defeat on merit, calling for transparency from Kanu’s legal team.
“The rule of law demands transparency. The Kanu family, the legal profession, and the Nigerian public deserve answers.
“This was not a loss to a superior legal argument. It was professional negligence that cost a man his freedom.
“This is the real issue and nothing else,” he said.
NEWSNGR reports that Kanu had in a statement he issued from the Sokoto correctional centre formally notified Ejiofor of his removal as his lawyer.
The IPOB lawyer who bagged a life sentence is contesting the outcome at the Court of Appeal arguing his conviction was unlawful.
