Nnamdi Kanu’s new defence team has accused his former lawyers, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, and Ifeanyi Ejiofor, of professional negligence, saying their failure to challenge a federal government motion cost the IPOB leader his freedom after the Court of Appeal had discharged him in 2022.

The allegation was made in a statement issued on Saturday by Christopher Chidera, Esq., speaking on behalf of the current defence team.

Kanu recently announced that Ejiofor no longer represents him or IPOB.

Ozekhome and Ejiofor handled Kanu’s terrorism trial before the IPOB leader later chose to represent himself in court.

Chidera recalled that on October 13, 2022, the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja unanimously discharged and acquitted Kanu.

The court declared his extraordinary rendition from Kenya illegal and held that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to try him. All charges were quashed.

According to the defence team, the turning point came when the Federal Government filed what they described as an “irregular civil application for stay of execution.”

They argue the defence had a clear path: file a preliminary objection challenging the court’s jurisdiction to hear the application, since the Court of Appeal had become functus officio after delivering final judgement in a criminal matter.

“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 of the matter: the court’s jurisdiction to even hear it,” the statement read.

Chidera alleged that the failure allowed the court to grant the stay. A new panel of the Court of Appeal then applied civil procedure rules to set aside the criminal discharge.

Kanu remained in DSS custody for 14 months without fresh charges, the team said.

The unchallenged stay, the defence team argued, created the legal opening for the Supreme Court to reverse Kanu’s discharge on December 15, 2023.

The IPOB leader was later convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment “on charges that had been quashed by a superior court,” Chidera stated.

The statement further alleged that when Kanu’s family demanded accountability, Ejiofor refused to take 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,” Chidera claimed.

The defence team said the episode was not a defeat on legal merit, but “professional negligence that cost a man his freedom.

“The rule of law demands transparency. The Kanu family, the legal profession and the Nigerian public deserve answers,” the statement added.

As of press time, Ozekhome and Ejiofor had not publicly responded to the new allegations.