Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was represented by some of the finest legal minds in Nigeria — and he DISMISSED them.

Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu,

Chief Echezona Etiaba,

Chief Kanu Agabi,

Chief Mike Ozekhome —

all Senior Advocates of Nigeria, all giants of the legal profession — were physically in court, ready and willing to defend him.

And then… he disengaged them.

Chose to represent himself.

And reduced everything to shouting:

“Where is the law? Where is the law?”

I will never forget the day Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN — former Attorney-General of the Federation — stood before the world and announced that Nnamdi Kanu had terminated their services. A man of his stature does not express disappointment carelessly, but his tone said everything. I almost shed tears because I knew immediately:

Drama was coming. Defence was over.

The opportunity for justice had been thrown away.

The purpose of defence in a criminal trial is simple:

to run your own narrative,

to attack the prosecution’s evidence,

to poke holes in the State’s case,

to fight for your freedom with the law as your weapon.

These Senior Advocates would have dismantled the prosecution’s case piece by piece.

They would have fought with the skill, depth, and experience required at that level.

But not with Nnamdi Kanu.

He preferred a public performance over a legal defence.

And in criminal law, when the prosecution establishes a case and you fail to rebut the evidence, the law has only one conclusion:

The case stands proven.

Yet today, the loudest voices shouting that he was convicted “because he is Igbo” NEVER advised him to open his defence.

None of them has condemned his decision to sack his lawyers.

None has acknowledged the damage that decision caused.

Instead, they blame everyone except the man who refused to defend himself.

As for my younger brother, Ikechukwu Onyia, he will likely argue that the spirits of the Late Dr. Chike Akunyili and other victims of the Unknown Gunmen — some alleged to have been beheaded or slaughtered for the gods in the forests — played a spiritual role in ensuring that no defence was put up.

And sometimes, I honestly wonder if he is wrong.

We make endless references to “the terrorist North,” but we refuse to discuss the consequences of harbouring and celebrating evil in our own land.

Let us recall the allegations that the people of Orsumoghu in Ihiala LGA once invited UGM, celebrated their arrival, welcomed them, glorified them — only to now hold thanksgiving that these men have finally been driven out after:

destroying homes,

crippling livelihoods,

destabilising families, and

leaving the community in ruins that may take decades to rebuild.

What hypocrisy.

What a painful lesson.

Never again.

Never again must we celebrate criminals.

Never again must we defend lawlessness because “he is our brother.”

Never again must we allow tribal emotion to blind us to reality.

Never again must we enable destruction in the name of “freedom.”

It is time for Ndi Igbo to face the truth:

We cannot build a prosperous future while glorifying those who destroy our land.

We cannot cry injustice when we refused to take advantage of the justice system.

We cannot blame the world for the consequences of our own silence and complicity.

Never again.

— Obunike Ohaegbu

23/11/2025