By SCM Correspondent, SE I Monday, Nov. 24.25
AWKA, Anambra – The Lead Counsel to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has called for a high-level, coordinated political and legal intervention in the case of detained IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, insisting that performative public commentary can no longer substitute for strategic action.
In a statement titled “Monday Musing: When Strategy Must Replace Showmanship , The Immediate Blueprint for Securing Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s Release,” Ejiofor argued that the time has come for Igbo political heavyweights and globally respected legal minds to collaborate in a unified and disciplined effort.
According to him, such an intervention must supersede what he described as a growing “cacophony of well-intentioned but strategically hollow commentary.”
Ejiofor, a renowned Nigerian human rights lawyer, stressed that only individuals of unimpeachable integrity, political relevance, and substantial influence can meaningfully intervene in the matter far more effectively than “dramatic press releases, emotional outbursts, or roadside gallantry masquerading as strategy.”
He emphasized that the proposed intervention team must include eminent Igbo personalities, notably:sitting and former South-East state executives,federal cabinet members of Igbo extraction, and respected national figures whose names command influence across Nigeria’s political and institutional landscape.
According to him, once this political vanguard is constituted, the next crucial step is the formation of a formidable legal consortium a team of distinguished legal luminaries with international standing to take charge of the complex legal architecture ahead, especially the sensitive appellate processes.
Ejiofor insisted that political engagement must precede any legal filing, arguing that the political front must receive “the fastest, most focused, and undivided attention” before an appeal is entered at the Court of Appeal.
He further stated that before any legal document is drafted or filed, the joint political–legal taskforce should visit Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in the Correctional Centre to align strategies and ensure that interventions are coordinated, coherent, and informed.
Ejiofor warned strongly against the dangers of a premature or uncoordinated appeal, stating that any such move undertaken without political groundwork, without internal alignment, and without strategic calibration would be “dead on arrival,” vulnerable to prejudice, technical traps, and procedural pitfalls.
The statement reads in full:
In seasons such as this, when emotions swell beyond measure, when misinformation becomes the cheapest currency in circulation, and when every self-anointed “stakeholder” gallops into the public square to spew unguarded proclamations, one is compelled, indeed summoned by conscience, to draw a sharp distinction between sober strategy and theatrical showmanship. I am particularly propelled by the rising swell of concern and heartfelt outcry from well-meaning people and friends across the globe.
This morning, therefore, I rise to the solemn duty of speaking truth once more, not wrapped in hyperbole, nor dipped in sentimentality, but firmly anchored in reason, prudence, institutional memory, and lived professional experience. I choose to go public so that my cherished brothers and sisters clamouring for my return may be properly guided.
Given the labyrinthine complexity of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s legal odyssey, and the delicate interplay of law, politics, diplomacy, and public sentiment surrounding it, it is my considered, honest, and unwavering view that a structured, high-calibre intervention must now override the current cacophony of well-intentioned but strategically hollow commentary.
A CALL FOR SERIOUS-MINDED INTERVENTION
It has become imperative, indeed unavoidable, that Igbo political heavyweights and legal minds of enviable global repute immediately swing into coordinated action; an intervention where influence speaks far louder than dramatic press releases, emotional outbursts, or roadside gallantry masquerading as “strategy.”
To lead this elite intervention must be Igbo political figures of unimpeachable integrity and honesty, working in consultation with the appropriate leadership. For compelling reasons, I shall refrain from mentioning their names here.
This group must incorporate eminent Igbo personalities drawn from the South-East-state executives, federal cabinet members of Igbo extraction, and respected national figures whose names command gravitas, influence, and consequence across Nigeria’s political landscape.
THE LEGAL ARCHITECTURE
Once this political vanguard is unveiled, the next indispensable step is the constitution of a formidable team of legal luminaries, individuals of exceptional international distinction, who will assume full command of the legal architecture, particularly the highly sensitive appellate processes before us.
This is not the hour for amateur improvisation.
This is not the season for courtroom theatrics.
This moment demands master craftsmen of the law.
THE FIRST MANDATORY STEP: A VISIT TO MAZI NNAMDI KANU
Before a single legal document is drafted, filed, or even contemplated, this combined political–legal taskforce must visit Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in the Correctional Centre.
This visit is crucial for:
a. securing his explicit mandate;
b. aligning on a unified and coherent strategy;
c. calibrating expectations; and
d. ensuring that every participant is reading from the same script, both in conduct, action and in commitment.
With this mandate firmly in hand, the team must immediately commence structured, discreet, and purposeful engagement with the Federal Government, aimed squarely at securing a pragmatic and politically plausible resolution.
Let no one be deceived: this political pathway must receive the fastest, most focused, and wholly undivided attention before any appeal is filed at the Court of Appeal.
A WORD OF WARNING
Any appeal rushed to court at this moment, without groundwork, without political alignment, without strategic coordination, will arrive, tragically, dead on arrival, smothered under prejudice, technical pitfalls, and procedural quicksand.
This is not pessimism.
It is realism.
It is truth, spoken without adornment and fortified by experience.
It must be reiterated, firmly yet respectfully, that all forms of online hostility, emotional eruptions, and counterproductive declarations must cease forthwith. We must not, in our understandable frustration, unwittingly sabotage the very outcome we seek.
A CAUTION AGAINST OPPORTUNISM
I am not oblivious to the predictable wave of opportunism already rising, individuals who will seize this moment merely to harvest political relevance through loud public proclamations.
Ironically, many among them contributed, directly or indirectly, to the anti-clockwise rotation of events we are now forced to confront.
This strategic process must unfold with minimal publicity. This is a delicate hour, not a season for dramatic updates, sensational headlines, or premature triumphalism.
Success is often conceived in confidential rooms, not in the noisy amphitheatre of social-media theatrics.
