Ifeanyi Ejiofor, lawyer to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has claimed that the Anambra State Police Command is after his life, alleging that an order has been issued to arrest him dead or alive.

Ejiofor was declared wanted by the Police last week after a crisis in his hometown, Oraifite, Ekwusigo Local Government Area of the state, that led to the death of two senior Police officers and four civilians.

The IPOB lawyer in a petition to the British High Commissioner to Nigeria reeled out his offences to include being the lawyer to Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB, and his winning of virtually all charges filed against the group in various courts of competent jurisdiction.

While urging the British High Commission to intervene immediately in the matter, he also called on the United Kingdom to intervene and prevail on both the Federal Government and the Nigerian Police to set aside the “wanted” declaration made against him.

Ejiofor pledged to make himself available to the Police if their intention is to investigate the allegations, even as he called for the setting up of an independent Investigative Panel to look into the incident.

Ejiofor further quantified the property destroyed in the fracas in his country home in Oraifite to the tune of N700 million.

The petition reads in part: “Why is the Anambra State Police Command shielding itself or keeping mute over the mayhem its personnel, the military and other security agencies perpetrated in my ancestral home, including the burning of houses and other properties valued at over N700m as well as killing and maiming of defenceless and unarmed citizens?

“Is the instant contrived against me not inimical to the provision of Rule 24 of the Rules of Conduct for Legal Practitioners, 2007, that placed a duty on Lawyers to represent their client(s) to the best of their ability within the confines of the law?

“The only plausible offence I committed in the real sense of it is because I am the lawyer to Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB who have won virtually all frivolous charge filed against the members of IPOB in various courts’ of competent jurisdiction across the south-south and south-East states, including Abuja.

“I make bold to state most respectfully Sir, that my thorough investigation and findings revealed that an order to arrest me dead or alive has been given.”

Ejiofor further alleged that a certain oil mogul in the area was behind his ordeal for the sole purpose of satisfying the “powers that be”.

He added: “Furthermore Sir, the Anambra State Commissioner of Police, had quickly declared me wanted to enable them cover their evil tracks on the heinous crime committed in my house.

“I have been reliably informed that the Commissioner of Police Anambra State, had issued an order to his subordinates to shoot me at sight, and as it stands today, my life is increasingly exposed to possible conspiracy of extinction in the hands of deadly police officers.

“It is pertinent to stress that being a law abiding citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and a Legal Practitioner who firmly believes in the Rule of Law, I have no problem whatsoever making myself available to the Nigerian Police if indeed their intention is/was to investigate an alleged complaint, arrest and/or prosecute me if found culpable

“I call on the United Kingdom, to intervene in the circumstance and prevail on the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Nigerian Police to immediately set aside the declaration made against me on the 3rd December, 2019, declaring me “a wanted person”, and to fully give effect to my fundamental human rights.

“I further call on the United Kingdom, to prevail on the Federal Government of Nigeria to set up an independent Investigative Panel to investigate the incident that occurred at my ancestral home in Oraifite, Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State, on the 2nd day of December, 2019.

“I finally crave the indulgence of the United Kingdom for a proactive oversight and intervention in the light of this obvious travesty of justice against me, in view of the extraordinary circumstances prevailing in the case.”

In his reaction, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Haruna Mohammed, said Ejiofor’s allegation is baseless. “He is lawyer; he knows what to do when police have declared any person wanted,” Mohammed said.

He urged Ejiofor to come out of hiding and defend himself if he has credible evidence, saying: “It is not a hide-and-seek game as in the way he is doing it.”

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