The leader of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, has formally terminated the services of Ifeanyi Ejiofor, his former legal counsel, who had represented him and IPOB in several cases since 2015.
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The termination was contained in a letter dated July 22, 2026, addressed to Ejiofor and reportedly written from the Sokoto Correctional Centre, where Kanu is serving a jail term.
The sender’s address on the letter reads: “Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, Sokoto Correctional Centre, Sokoto, Sokoto State, Nigeria.” The letter also bears an NBA stamp and a notary public stamp carrying the name Kelechi D. Ogbonna.
A copy of the letter was published on X by Aloy Ejimakor, a legal consultant to Kanu, with the link to the post shared with journalists.
In the letter, Kanu said the correspondence served as a formal termination of Ejiofor’s legal representation, following what he described as previous “direct verbal communication” to that effect.
He alleged that despite the earlier verbal disengagement, Ejiofor continued to act as counsel to IPOB.
Kanu stated that from the date of the letter, Ejiofor no longer had authority to represent him, his family or IPOB in any court, forum or public space.
Citing the IPOB Code of Conduct, Kanu said he retained exclusive authority to appoint and dismiss principal officers of the group, including those acting in legal or representative capacities.
“As the Leader of IPOB and the holder of the exclusive authority vested in me under the Code of Conduct, I hereby reaffirm that any authority previously granted to you to represent IPOB has been withdrawn,” the letter read.
He added that any mandate or instruction allegedly derived from any person or body acting contrary to the IPOB Code of Conduct would not be recognised by the group.
Kanu directed Ejiofor to stop presenting himself as his lawyer or as counsel to IPOB, and to refrain from making public statements, granting interviews, issuing press releases or posting on social media on behalf of Kanu, his family or IPOB.
He also instructed the lawyer not to disclose or rely on confidential or privileged information obtained during his years of legal representation.
“Refrain entirely from making any public statements, comments, interviews, press releases, or social media posts purporting to speak on my behalf, on behalf of my family, or on behalf of IPOB, or to disclose or rely upon confidential or privileged information acquired during your retainer,” Kanu stated.
He further asked Ejiofor to take all necessary procedural steps to cease acting as his counsel on record in any pending matter where his name still appears, including filing appropriate notices where required.
Kanu said the duty of confidentiality remained binding even after the termination of the lawyer-client relationship.
“During the course of your representation of me and IPOB over several years, you acquired confidential, privileged, and legally protected information relating to my legal affairs, my family, and the affairs of IPOB,” he said.
“Those obligations of confidence survive the termination of your retainer and remain binding indefinitely under the applicable rules governing legal practitioners.”
The development marks another phase in the long-running changes within Kanu’s legal team.
In 2021, the Federal Government repatriated Kanu to Nigeria from Kenya after accusing him of jumping bail. He was subsequently arraigned on terrorism charges.
In June 2023, Kanu’s younger brother, Kingsley Kanunta, announced that Ejiofor and Mike Ozekhome, SAN, had been dismissed as counsel to the IPOB leader by members of the family.
Ejiofor rejected the announcement at the time, insisting that Kanunta had no authority to disengage him because he was retained by Kanu himself.
However, Ejiofor later stopped representing Kanu in 2023.
In March 2025, Kanu engaged Kanu Agabi, SAN, a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, to lead his defence in the terrorism trial.
By October 2025, Agabi informed the Federal High Court in Abuja that he and other senior lawyers on the defence team had withdrawn from the case, saying Kanu had decided to defend himself.
In November 2025, Kanu was sentenced to life imprisonment on terrorism charges and transferred to the Sokoto Correctional Centre.
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