The Lead Counsel to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has urged key political and legal actors to abandon performative rhetoric and immediately commence a coordinated, high-level intervention to secure the release of detained IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
He made the appeal in a statement on Monday titled “Monday Musing: When Strategy Must Replace Showmanship – The Immediate Blueprint for Securing Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s Release,”
Ejiofor warned that no amount of dramatic press briefings, emotional declarations, or social-media theatrics can substitute for disciplined, strategic engagement.
He insisted that the moment calls for sober planning rather than the growing “cacophony of well-intentioned but strategically hollow commentary.”
Ejiofor stressed that only individuals with real political weight, unimpeachable integrity, and national influence can meaningfully intervene in Kanu’s detention.
According to him, the needed intervention must be anchored by Igbo political heavyweights.
This include both current and former Southeast governors, federal cabinet members of Igbo origin, and other respected personalities.
Creation of formidable legal team
Once such a political vanguard is constituted, Ejiofor said the next critical step is a formidable legal consortium.
This is an elite team of legal luminaries of international standing capable of designing and executing the complex appellate strategy.
“This is not the hour for amateur improvisation. “This moment demands master craftsmen of the law.”
The human rights lawyer emphasized that political engagement must precede legal action.
Ejiofor warned that any appeal filed at the Court of Appeal without prior political groundwork would be “dead on arrival.”
“Such a move would expose the case to avoidable prejudice, technical traps, and procedural complications that could derail justice quest.
Before drafting or filing any document, Ejiofor recommended a mandatory visit to Kanu at the Correctional Centre.
The visit, he said, is essential for securing Kanu’s consent, harmonizing strategy, and calibrating expectations.
It will also ensure that every player—both political and legal aligns and moves in one direction.
According to him, it is imperative for stakeholders to resist the temptation of premature updates or public grandstanding.
“Success is often conceived in confidential rooms, not in the noisy amphitheatre of social-media theatrics,” he noted.
Rising tide of opportunism
Ejiofor also expressed concern over the rising tide of opportunism.
He said certain voices dominating the public space appear more interested in political relevance than meaningful progress.
Ironically, he added, some of them directly or indirectly contributed to the complications now facing the case.
The lawyer appealed to supporters to remain calm and resist online hostility or provocative commentary.
He also warned that uncontrolled emotional reactions could sabotage the very outcome they desire.
What is needed now, he emphasized, is discipline, coordination, and strategic silence.
“In times such as this—when emotions run high, misinformation spreads easily, and every self-appointed ‘stakeholder’ rushes to the public square—there is a need to distinguish sober strategy from theatrical showmanship,” he wrote.
He explained that his decision to speak publicly again was driven by the genuine concern of supporters seeking clarity about the path forward.
Ejiofor concluded by reaffirming that the pathway to Kanu’s freedom lies in structured political engagement backed by world-class legal expertise, not in public drama.
“Let no one be deceived,” he said. “A pragmatic, politically viable solution must receive the fastest and most focused attention.
“Anything short of these risks undermining the struggle,” he warned.
