Barrister Ifeanyi Ejiofor has been officially fired by Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), and he has been instructed to cease representing Kanu, his family, and IPOB.
According to what Naija News has learned, Kanu sent the order in a letter dated July 22, 2026, signed from the Sokoto Correctional Center and addressed to Ejiofor at his Abuja office.
Kanu stated in the letter that the legal retainer had previously been ended verbally and that the most recent letters was an official written confirmation of the decision.
“I already terminated your engagement as my personal legal representative through direct verbal conversation, at which point you stopped serving in that capacity. Kanu said, “This letter functions as a formal written confirmation of that prior termination in part.
He charged that even after his mandate was revoked, Ejiofor was still presenting himself as IPOB’s legal counsel.
Despite the aforementioned, you have persisted in posing as IPOB’s legal representative, either directly or indirectly.
Therefore, I hereby formally revoke and terminate any authorization previously provided to you to act on behalf of or represent IPOB in any manner, just to be clear.
The letter stated, “From the date of this letter, you have no authority, implied, express, or ostensible, to act, speak, or make representations on my behalf, on behalf of my family, or on behalf of IPOB.”
Kanu based his decision on the IPOB Code of Conduct, citing Section II, Subsection A, which he said gave the IPOB leader the right to name, suspend, or fire major officers unless specifically granted.
He said that no person or organization acting in violation of the code could lawfully hire or retain legal counsel on behalf of the organization.
Therefore, no person, official, committee, or former office holder operating outside of the power granted by the Code of Conduct may lawfully designate, maintain, instruct, authorize, or continue to instruct legal counsel on behalf of IPOB.
He declared, “IPOB does not recognize as an exercise of its internal authority any purported authority derived from a person or body acting contrary to the Code of Conduct.”
Kanu ordered Ejiofor to immediately cease speaking in public, giving interviews, releasing press releases, or posting on social media on behalf of IPOB, his family, or himself.
Additionally, he directed the attorney to stop representing Kanu or IPOB in any court, forum, or public setting and to take all required legal actions to withdraw from any ongoing cases in which he was listed as counsel.
The IPOB chairman also cautioned Ejiofor that the secrecy of their transactions must be maintained, even when a lawyer-client relationship ends.
“You obtained private, sensitive, and legally protected information about my family, my legal matters, and IPOB’s activities over the course of representing me and IPOB for a number of years.
He wrote, “Those obligations of confidence survive the termination of your retainer and remain binding indefinitely under the applicable rules governing legal practitioners.”
According to Kanu, recent events have sparked worries about the potential use or exposure of private information acquired during the representation.
“Therefore, without my express written consent, I hereby place you on formal notice that you are not permitted to disclose, publish, communicate, exploit, or otherwise use any confidential or privileged information acquired during your retainer, whether directly or indirectly, for any purpose whatsoever, except as required by law or by order of a court of competent jurisdiction,” he said.
He warned that any unauthorised disclosure or misuse of privileged information could amount to professional misconduct and attract disciplinary proceedings before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, in addition to other legal remedies.
Additionally, Kanu told Ejiofor to keep all records and documents pertaining to his prior legal representation since they would be useful in other court cases.
Kanu described the letter as a final warning, stating that he would have no choice but to take legal action if he disregarded the instructions.
According to him, his legal team would submit “a formal petition before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) detailing professional misconduct including, where supported by the evidence, acting without authority, any breach of client confidentiality, any unauthorized disclosure of privileged information, and any other professional misconduct disclosed by the facts.”
Other legal actions might be taken “to restrain further unauthorized representations, to secure injunctive relief for the protection of confidential information, and to seek appropriate damages,” he continued.
Kanu reaffirmed that Ejiofor was no longer authorized to speak on behalf of IPOB or him.
“You are expected to take the procedural actions needed by the applicable law and court regulations to regularize the record to the extent that you remain counsel on record in any ongoing proceedings. You are not authorized to speak on behalf of IPOB, my family, or me,” he declared.
“Nothing in the letter should be interpreted as a waiver of any legal or equitable rights available to him in his personal capacity or as leader of IPOB,” he said in closing.
