As a commencement of the overhauling of the legal team, Kanu held a meeting with one of his trusted lawyers, Aloy Ejimakor and instructed him to ask the legal team to return his case file to him without further delay, Vanguard reports.
Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), is reportedly planning to reshuffle his legal team over his continued detention in the Department of State Services (DSS) custody by the Nigerian government, sources have said.
As a commencement of the overhauling of the legal team, Kanu held a meeting with one of his trusted lawyers, Aloy Ejimakor and instructed him to ask the legal team to return his case file to him without further delay, Vanguard reports.
It was gathered that Kanu's action resulted from his belief that the legal team lacked the ability to secure his immediate and unconditional release from detention after the October 13, 2022 Appeal Court judgment which acquitted and discharged him.
Kanu is also reportedly not happy that the disposition of the team emboldened the Nigerian government to file fresh grounds of appeal against his release at the Supreme Court challenging the Appeal Court judgment, the sources further claimed.
The legal team was also said to have not done enough to impress on the international community that Kanu had been discharged and acquitted as against the claim by the Nigerian government that he was merely discharged and not acquitted, a development that formed the basis of the appeal at the Supreme Court by the government.
One of the sources close to IPOB leadership was said to have confirmed on Thursday that Kanu during the meeting with Ejimakor on Monday, expressed disappointment over his continued detention despite being represented by a group of people he considered as a formidable legal team.
The source was quoted as saying, “Our leader, Mazi Kanu suspects that the legal team has not been pushing enough to secure his freedom and has told Ejimakor to tell the rest of the team that he is disappointed over the way they are handling the matter, especially at the Supreme Court.
“The IPOB leader believes strongly that the legal team should have done everything possible to stall the new grounds of appeal recently filed by the Federal Government at the Supreme Court against his release as ordered by the Appeal Court late last year.
“Kanu is of the view that the failure by his team of lawyers to discharge the appeal the FG filed at the Supreme Court against his release by the Appeal Court is either due to the team not being proactive or being outwitted and overwhelmed by the Federal Government, which would prefer longer incarceration for him.
“In fact, from the way he spoke to Ejimakor on Monday, it was clear that he is very displeased with the tactics already deployed to get him out of detention and that is also sending jitters to members of the legal team with many senior lawyers who have been working day and night for his own welfare.”