By CHARLES IWUOHA

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has insisted that its leader, Nnamdi Kanu’s former personal counsel, Mike Ejiofor, remains sacked as the group’s lawyer.

Kanu had, in a letter he wrote from the Sokoto Correctional Centre, announced Ejiofor’s sack as both his personal counsel and IPOB lawyer.

Following the development, Ejiofor said while he is no longer the IPOB leader’s personal counsel, he remains the lawyer of the pro-Biafra group.

However, responding to Ejiofor’s claims on Tuesday, IPOB, in a statement released by its spokesman, Emma Powerful, said Ejiofor’s purported reappointment by expelled members of the group is dead on arrival.

“The attention of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) under the supreme leadership of our great leader, Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has been drawn to the spurious claims by the sacked and disengaged external solicitor, Barrister Ifeanyi Ejiofor, in which he falsely asserts that “IPOB reaffirmed him as its lawyer” through a letter signed by expelled renegades.

For the sake of clarity and for the final time, we state the following unequivocally: The claimed “reaffirmation” is a worthless piece of paper. The document being paraded by Barrister Ifeanyi Ejiofor is a legal nullity. It was purportedly signed by Chika Edoziem, who is no longer a member of IPOB. It is a ridiculous absurdity for sacked and expelled individuals to gather and issue a letter of appointment in the name of IPOB. In IPOB, you cannot give what you do not have. Expelled elements cannot hire or reinstate a lawyer under the name and authority of the very movement they were excommunicated from. That piece of paper is not only unethical; it is dead on arrival.

“The Supreme Leader’s authority is absolute and exclusive. Our leader, Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, is the indisputable Supreme Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra. By the clear tenets of our Code of Conduct (Section II, Subsection A), he possesses the sole authority to appoint, suspend, or dismiss officers, including legal representatives, unless he expressly delegates that power. Mazi Nnamdi Kanu sacked Ifeanyi Ejiofor, and he remains sacked. The Supreme Leader expelled Chika Edoziem, and others in the dissolved 3rd DOS. They remain expelled and are no longer members of the IPOB family. A gang-up of sacked and disgruntled elements does not constitute a leadership structure of IPOB. No group of expelled persons can overturn the decision of the Supreme Leader,” parts of the statement said.

Drawing Ejiofor’s attention to the group’s Code of Conduct, IPOB added: “We are shocked that a supposed lawyer cannot read and digest the simple provisions of our organisational Code of Conduct. We strongly advise Ifeanyi Ejiofor to carefully study the IPOB Code of Conduct before digging himself deeper into a professional hole. Just as Nigeria has a Constitution (which many routinely disregard), we in IPOB adhere religiously to our own Code of Conduct. You must respect the rules of an entity before accepting a brief to represent them.”

IPOB in the same vein blamed Ejiofor for Kanu’s incarceration.

“We must remind the legal public and the world of the source of the current legal quagmire. Ifeanyi Ejiofor’s monumental failure of professional duty is a major reason Mazi Nnamdi Kanu remains in detention. Had he performed his primary duty and filed a simple preliminary objection to the former AGF Abubakar Malami’s perverse and illegal civil stay of execution, the case of our leader would have been concluded years ago. Instead, his professional negligence and apparent ignorance of basic law — specifically, his failure to understand that one Court of Appeal panel cannot use civil procedure rules to overturn a criminal discharge — opened the door for the injustice by Justice Omotosho’s court.

“Worse still, when Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu boycotted the court at the resumption of trial, it was Ifeanyi Ejiofor who returned to court on his own. It was also Ifeanyi Ejiofor who visited the DSS to plead with Onyendu to return to court. These actions, among others, amounted to sabotage and compromise, which is precisely why he was sacked. His lapses helped keep our Leader in jail,” the statement added.

IPOB described as falsehood Ejiofor’s claim that Kanu’s letter sacking him as IPOB lawyer was unauthenticated. It explained that the sacking letter was properly notarized before a lawyer in Sokoto.

Accusing Ejiofior of working with the Nigerian government, IPOB said whatever deal he may have allegedly brokered to divide the organization and destabilize its leadership is dead on arrival. “

“We are fully prepared to meet him in court to explain exactly how expelled entities can claim to appoint anyone under the hallowed name of IPOB.

“He is free to represent any group of his choice, but certainly not the Indigenous People of Biafra. He is sacked, compromised, and permanently disengaged. We do not want him anywhere near IPOB or the legal affairs of our Supreme Leader,” IPOB added, stressing that Kanu, as Supreme Leader, has the sole authority to appoint and dismiss officers, including lawyers.