The family of Nnamdi Kanu has said Barrister Aloy Ejimakor remains the Special Counsel to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Kanu’s family said this in a press release titled ‘RE: Barrister Aloy Ejimakor Remains The Special Counsel to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu/IPOB’ signed by Prince Kingsley Kanunta Kanu on Wednesday.

The statement from Kanu’s family is coming barely 24 hours that IPOB in a statement by its spokesman, Emma Powerful, sacked Ejimakor as the leader’s Special Counsel.

Powerful faulted Ejimakor for saying he “has no idea what IPOB is fighting for and does not know IPOB’s modus operandi, that is why he attempted to export his lack of the inner workings of IPOB and his confused state of mind to the general public.”

Reacting to the development, IPOB leader’s family said, “Late yesterday, the attention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu family was drawn to publications in a few newspapers, stating the IPOB has sacked Barrister Aloy Ejimakor as a Lawyer representing Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB. The publications were based on a Press Statement ostensibly released late yesterday (1^st August, 2923) by Comrade Emma Powerful, the Media & Publicity Secretary of IPOB.

“By this Press Release, we – the family of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu state categorically that the Press Statement by the said Emma Powerful is false and defamatory in its entirety and accordingly, Barrister Aloy Ejimakor has not been sacked as a Special Counsel to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and the IPOB. He thus remains such Special Counsel in good standing until Mazi Nnamdi Kanu says otherwise.

“For the avoidance of any doubt, Barrister Aloy Ejimakor personally and physically met with Mazi Nnamdi Kanu just days ago on 24^th July 2023. And on 27^th July 2023, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu met with my younger sibling. The main event of both visitations was the standing Direct Order of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu on termination of Sit-At-Home which he had issued through Barrister Aloy Ejimakor on 24^th July.

“Let us go on record to make it clear that Barrister Ejimakor was not hired or retained by this Emma Powerful or the Department of State of IPOB (DOS) which Powerful stated he was speaking for. Instead. Instead, it was Mazi Nnamdi Kanu (in his official capacity as Supreme Leader of IPOB) that hired Barr Ejimakor in late 2017. So, unless Emma Powerful and DOS believe that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has become vegetative (as they once rumoured), how can they suddenly begin to make decisions for him?

“To be sure, what is propelling the DOS is the same animus and jealousy that had propelled them to mess up the first direct order issued by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in 2021, terminating the Sit-At-Home. The DOS was driven mad with jealousy and envy that the order was delivered to, and announced by my humble self (Prince Kingsley Kanunta Kanu) instead of by the DOS, and for this reason alone the DOS sabotaged that initial effort by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to terminate of the Sit-At-Home.

“For the avoidance of doubt, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu referred to this sabotage in the latest order he issued to Barrister Aloy Ejimakor and noted how it had caused a rift between the DOS and himself to this day. It is a shame on the DOS that they are again levying the same fratricidal war on Barrister Ejimakor for the same silly reason they had traduced me back in 2021.

“But this time around, they have become more vicious in their rage against Barrister Ejimakor, simply because Barrister Ejimakor delivered his message so effectively that it has finally ended the Sit-At-Home, as Mazi Nnamdi Kanu had long desired, but which the pathetic DOS could not accomplish despite Mazi Nnamdi Kanu giving them several opportunities to do so.

“Let it be clear that Barrister Ejimakor’s remarks on the said AriseTV interview of 28^th July was taken out of context and deliberately twisted to provide a silly justification to lynch him. In the interview, Barrister Ejimakor – when he was talking about followers of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and Simon Ekpa – responded along these lines that ‘when the followers (whether they are of Mazi Kanu or of Ekpa) act for good, bad or ugly and do so in the name of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, it is then attributed to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu just because he is the Supreme Leader of IPOB; and such is unfair on Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, hence his reason for issuing the Sit-At-Hime termination order to separate the APPLES from the ORANGES’.

“So, the DOS that is twisting these intelligent remarks out of context should ask themselves these questions: Who are the Apples and Oranges if Barr Ejimakor really meant that there is absolutely no difference in follower-ship? Who are those that call themselves Disciples that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu had alluded to in the Sit-At-Hime termination order? And why would Mazi Nnamdi Kanu issue the order to Simon Ekpa if he considers Simon as someone that is not under his command and control?

“In the said DOS press release, Emma Powerful made a Freudian slip when he unwittingly stated in the first paragraph that: “While we agree that some misguided supporters of Simon Ekpa are followers of Mazi Nnamdi KANU being under the illusion that Simon is working for the release of Mazi KANU”. This statement by Emma Powerful is exactly another way of paraphrasing or interpreting the import or real meaning of what Barrister Ejimakor had said on the question of follower-ship. So, what is the beef with DOS, if not jealousy, envy and all manners of twisted tendencies?

“It is pertinent to state that since Mazi Nnamdi Kanu retained the legal services of Barrister Ejimakor in late 2017, it has been a season of landmark victories single-handedly won by him.

“The first was in March 2018 before a continental tribunal which reversed the proscription of IPOB and its listing as a terrorist group. The second was in January 2022 which exonerated Mazi Nnamdi from jumping bail and awarded him one billion Naira and an order for the published apology. The third was in October 2022 that declared Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s rendition and detention unconstitutional.

“The fourth was also in October 2022 where the Appeal Court discharged Mazi Nnamdi Kanu mainly on the ‘extraordinary rendition’ argument that the whole world knows was pioneered and written by Barr Ejimakor alone. And the fifth is the United Nations Opinion in which Barr Ejimakor actively worked with Attorney Bruce Fein in providing legal and other assistance that proved crucial in winning the case.

“In addition to these victories, Barrister Ejimakor is also directly and single-handedly handling other complex Briefs, including the one before the British High Commission and the African Union. And he is the only Counsel appointed by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to liaise with lawyers and others handling MNK/IPOB cases in America, in the UK, in Kenya and the United Nations. There are also four major cases (that are still pending) that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu personally assigned to him to handle alone for the IPOB.

“So, the DOS should be asked this question: If you claim that you have sacked Barrister Ejimakor, have you appointed another Special Counsel to take his place and handle these tough cases and assignments currently under his belt? Or is it that your sinister Intention is to dredge up a phantom sack as a means of complicating the ability of Barrister Ejimakor to win the cases he is currently doing for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and the real, loyal IPOB rank and file?

“In conclusion, it needs to be made clear that in all the cases handled by Barrister Ejimakor, the IPOB or a member of IPOB and Mazi Nnamdi are the only parties. And where IPOB is not a party, it is Mazi Nnamdi Kanu that is the party and it is only because he is the Supreme Leader of IPOB; so in that sense, it is still an IPOB case with Barr Ejimakor as its vanguard. Therefore, this DOS sacking of Barrister Ejimakor, even so laughable and ineffectual, is a clumsy attempt by DOS at biting its nose to spite its face. In other words, it is a senseless attempt at self-immolation of the real IPOB and we will not allow it to happen.” (Vanguard)

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