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Barr. Christopher Chidera, a public affairs analyst, has said that Barr. Ifeanyi Ejiofor, the former lawyer to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, should explain to the family of jailed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the legal profession, and the Nigerian public why the legal team failed to file a Preliminary Objection challenging the jurisdiction of the “court to entertain the illegal civil stay” that was issued during the trial.
In an open editorial dated 23 June 2026 and entitled: “The Untold Story Behind Sack of: Fatal Legal Lapses and a Shameful Smear Campaign”, Chidera said that failure to file the objection removed a potent procedural barrier in the trial.
“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 using an unknown civil process. Instead, the unchallenged stay was allowed to stand, paving the way for further proceedings.”
He added that the unchallenged stay was allowed to stand, paving the way for further proceedings.
According to him, on 13 October 2022, the Court of Appeal delivered a discharge that finally terminated the criminal proceedings and possessed the legal incidents of an acquittal, adding that it is a fundamental principle of Nigerian law that a civil stay of execution cannot override such a discharge.
He argued that despite this, the Federal Government, through Attorney-General Abubakar Malami, filed an irregular civil stay application, adding that this application was entertained by the same court after it had become functus officio, having fully determined and exhausted its jurisdiction over the criminal appeal.
Chidera argued that the Federal Government’s refusal to obey the Court of Appeal’s discharge order amounted to contempt, saying that the outcome was an unprecedented 14-month detention without fresh charge – a situation unheard of in Nigeria’s legal history.
The result, he posited was that “Kanu then became the subject of one of the most extraordinary episodes in Nigerian judicial history: a conviction entered by a lower court on counts previously quashed and discharged by a superior appellate court..”
Chidera accused Ejiofor of mounting allegation against Kanu’s brothers who demanded accountability for the lapses and called for the resignation of those responsible.
Chidera argued that rather than “accept responsibility, Ejiofor responded with malicious allegations against the brothers”, adding that his aim was to isolate Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and damage the family that has remained steadfast in his defence.
He alleged Ejiofor poisoned relationships by feeding falsehoods to Kanu’s wife and members of the dissolved Kuje-appointed 3rd Administration, stating that social media overflowed with wild claims and character assassination, while the central reason for his sacking – the team’s failure to mount a proper jurisdictional challenge to the illegal stay – was deliberately concealed.
He stated that Ejiofor continues to issue public attacks on his former client without the basic decency to disclose the fundamental shortcomings, adding that this behaviour falls far short of the ethical standards required of legal practitioners.
However, Chidera argued that the appeal currently before the Court of Appeal raises serious questions of jurisdictional nullity, fair hearing, and obedience to appellate orders and called on the public to see beyond personal vendettas.
He called on the Court of Appeal to address the foundational irregularities in this matter, adding that Nigeria’s justice system deserves better than the distraction of personal bitterness from those whose own lapses contributed to this prolonged injustice.
