How Kanu’s former lawyer declined judge’s request to seek leniency for IPOB leader

Aloy Ejimakor, once the attorney to the convicted leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), on Thursday declined an invitation by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, to deliver an allocutus on behalf of his former client.

Allocutus refers to a defendant’s formal plea for leniency after conviction but before sentencing.

Kanu had earlier reassigned Ejimakor and other members of his legal team to the role of consultants, opting instead to conduct his own defence.

The court had found the IPOB leader guilty on seven counts, offences that attract penalties ranging from imprisonment to life sentences and even the death penalty.

After delivering his judgment, Justice Omotosho remarked that Kanu should be afforded an opportunity to make an allocutus, noting that “he is our brother,” before calling on Ejimakor to take up the task.

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Ejimakor, however, declined. He told the court that he was not suitably attired and no longer served as Kanu’s counsel. “Being an officer in this Temple of Justice. I’m not being properly dressed and not being his counsel on record, I will yield this task to Honourable Obi Aguocha,” he said.

Obi Aguocha, who represents Umuahia North/Umuahia South/Ikwuano Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives—Kanu’s home constituency—then stepped forward to plead for mercy for the detained IPOB leader.

Aguocha made a personal appeal, introducing himself as Kanu’s representative and lifelong associate. “My lord, I am the direct representative of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. That is why you see me here almost every time, showing presence and solidarity with him,” he said.

He added that he and Kanu had been schoolmates at both primary and secondary levels, explaining that although he was senior to Kanu, he felt a personal obligation to speak on his behalf in his role as a federal legislator.