Human rights lawyer, Barrister Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has accused the Nigerian government of ethnic bias and selective prosecution in terrorism-related cases, alleging that Igbo youths are routinely arrested and detained while alleged sponsors of terrorism in the North remain free.
Ejiofor made the allegation in a statement issued on Wednesday while reacting to recent disclosures linked to the ongoing prosecution of a former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN).
According to the lawyer, revelations reportedly attributed to the Department of State Services (DSS) during court proceedings have raised serious concerns about fairness, consistency and credibility in the administration of justice.
While cautioning against prejudging the case against the former Attorney-General, Ejiofor said the issues emerging from the proceedings extended beyond legal technicalities to questions of equity and conscience.
He alleged that some individuals previously identified by security agencies as financiers of terrorism were not prosecuted during Malami’s tenure as Attorney-General, despite intelligence reports linking them to Boko Haram, ISWAP, armed banditry and other jihadist networks.
“These were not whispers from street corners, but conclusions reportedly drawn from extensive intelligence investigations,” Ejiofor said, noting that the names of the suspects—largely from northern Nigeria—were made public years ago.
“Yet, prosecutions were abandoned, files closed, and clean bills of health quietly issued. One might ask: was terrorism suddenly cured, or merely forgiven?”
Contrasting the situation with developments in the South-East, Ejiofor said his law firm had defended hundreds of Igbo individuals who were arbitrarily arrested across the region on allegations of terrorism and related offences.
Speaking from what he described as direct professional experience, the lawyer said many of those arrested were picked up while going about their normal lives, including travelling to burials or attending work, and were charged with offences he described as unfounded and unsupported by evidence.
He noted that several of the cases were instituted before the Federal High Court in Abuja, allegedly at the instance of the Office of the Attorney-General at the time.
According to Ejiofor, all the cases eventually collapsed after full trials, with the defendants discharged and acquitted due to lack of evidence.
Despite their acquittals, he said many of the accused suffered irreparable damage, including prolonged detention, loss of livelihoods, broken families and, in some cases, death in custody.
The lawyer also raised concerns about the continued detention of hundreds of Igbo youths at Wawa Barracks in Niger State, whom he said have been held for between four and six years without trial.
He alleged that some of the detainees were arrested in 2021 while returning to the South-East after travelling to Abuja to observe court proceedings involving the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
According to Ejiofor, the youths were neither arrested at the court premises nor charged to court but were intercepted in Lokoja and transferred to Wawa Barracks, where they remain in custody without conviction.
Describing the situation as incompatible with constitutional governance, Ejiofor questioned how attending court proceedings or expressing solidarity could amount to terrorism.
He called on the Nigerian Government and the Attorney-General of the Federation to intervene urgently and order the release of those still detained.
Selective justice is not justice. Delayed justice is not justice. Ethnic justice is a contradiction in terms, he said.
A system that prosecutes the weak with enthusiasm while shielding the powerful with silence does not fight terrorism; it rebrands it.
