Maxwell Okpara, a lawyer and advocate for the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu, has clarified claims that the IPOB leader dismissed his legal team during his trial.
Addressing the claim during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Friday, Okpara insisted that Kanu never fired his lawyers, but rather, some of them withdrew from the case.
He said, “I can tell you that Mazi Kanu never sacked his lawyers. Rather, the lawyers withdrew.”
Okpara also highlighted the voluntary nature of the lawyers’ involvement. He noted that senior advocates including Kanu Agabi, Onyechi Ikpeazu, along with other legal experts, were not remunerated for their work. “Nobody paid Kanu Agabi one naira. Nobody paid Onyechi Ikpeazu, and all of them. The seven senior advocates, including those of us, nobody paid us,” he said.
Okpara defended Kanu’s autonomy in the process, stressing that the defendant had the legal right to make choices about his defence.
Melissa Enoch
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