Nigerian human rights lawyer and lead counsel for the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has raised an alarm, revealing that many of those he has helped throughout his legal career are now among those attempting to destroy him.
In a statement titled Saturday Musing: The Folly of Biting the Finger that Fed You - When Gratitude Dies, Ejiofor criticized individuals who, after benefiting from his legal expertise, have now turned against him.
He condemned those who "sold their conscience to the devil" yet continue to present themselves as champions of the struggle to the gullible.
“The irony is both painful and profound,” “Those I pulled out of the pit have turned around to dig a deeper pit for their rescuer. This is perhaps the darkest face of human ingratitude. If the truth were laid bare, the names of these betrayers would shake the very soul of our people.
"You are not my Creator. Before I was formed in my mother’s womb, God ordained me for this divine mission. It was prophesied in my childhood that I would be a voice for the voiceless, and that mission remains sealed by covenant. Therefore, no mortal, no matter how venomous, shall derail my divine assignment. Many have tried in the past, and they all failed. Others will try tomorrow, and they too shall fall like their predecessors.”he stated.
Ejiofor further said that, in his role as a legal practitioner, he has never been motivated solely by financial gain. Instead, he has always been guided by a higher calling,one that is rooted in advancing the cause of humanity.
“The scales of justice are often too heavy for the poor, the oppressed, and the downtrodden to lift. Yet, it is our sacred duty to help shoulder that weight for them, even when doing so exposes us to grave risks.
“Those who attempt to frustrate a divine mandate must never forget that they are not contending with man, but with God Himself. If they doubt this truth, they need only look back at the calamities that befell those who once raised a hand against me. God remains my fortress and shield.” he stated.
Ejiofor reaffirmed his divine mission, saying, “I am, and will remain, a special gift from God to humanity, on a mission to impact lives, defend the oppressed, and uphold justice without fear or favour. That covenant with God stands unshaken, and no mortal hand can sever it.” “Gratitude ennobles; ingratitude debases. Gratitude builds bridges; ingratitude burns them. Gratitude is the language of the soul; ingratitude is the death of the soul. The world remembers and honours those who are grateful, while it forgets and curses those who betray their benefactors.”
Ejiofor also addressed the broader scope of his work, noting that his courtroom battles in defense of liberty have never been limited to just Igbo or IPOB members noting that his advocacy has extended to all corners of Nigeria,West, North, South, and East. He reminded his audience that justice is blind to tribe, and so must those who serve it be.
The statement reads in full: " The ordinary course of life, there areertain principles so fundamental that when violated, they tear at the very fabric of our common humanity. One such sacred principle is gratitude. Human civilisation, from its earliest dawn, has always acknowledged gratitude as both a moral duty and a spiritual virtue. When gratitude dies, betrayal is born, and betrayal is the most corrosive acid to the soul of both the betrayer and the betrayed.
The phenomenon of biting the finger that once fed you, or stabbing in the back the one who rescued you when the storms of life were drowning you, is not new. History, both biblical and secular, is replete with tragic accounts of ingratitude. From Cain rising against Abel, to Joseph’s brothers selling him into slavery, to Brutus piercing Caesar with the fatal blow while declaring, “Et tu, Brute?”, we are constantly reminded that the darkest wounds are often inflicted not by strangers, but by those who once partook of our bread and drank from our cup.
In the discharge of my solemn professional obligation as a legal practitioner, I have always been guided not merely by the pursuit of financial reward, but by the higher calling of advancing the cause of humanity. The scales of justice are often too heavy for the poor, the oppressed, and the downtrodden to lift; yet it is our sacred duty to help shoulder that weight for them, even when doing so exposes us to grave risks.
Through my pro bono services, I have, by the special grace of God, rescued thousands from the jaws of oppression; citizens across Nigeria’s ethnic and religious divides. My courtroom battles in defence of liberty have not been confined to Igbo or IPOB members alone; they have extended to the West, North, South, and East. Justice is blind to tribe, and so must we who serve her be.
I recall, with an emotion that still stirs my soul, the case of Mr. Bala Futu, a Plateau State indigene unjustly confined in Keffi prison for over a decade on allegations of grave crimes he knew nothing about. After years of legal struggle, he was finally discharged and acquitted in 2016. Two months after his release, Bala sought an audience with me in my Abuja office. He did not come empty-handed. He came with his wife, his relatives, and with three bags of fresh potatoes, a bag of onions, yams, and other items, humble tokens of gratitude from a heart too overwhelmed to remain silent.
As I beheld those gifts, tears flowed uncontrollably down my cheeks. Not because I could not afford such items, but because I saw in his gesture the purest form of appreciation, the kind that transcends wealth and speaks the language of the heart. That was biblical giving: giving not out of surplus, but out of sacrifice, out of love, out of gratitude.
Yet, how sharply this memory contrasts with the cold daggers of betrayal I have received from others, men whom I considered brothers, men whose lives I spared from the gnashing teeth of the state at the risk of my very own life. Not only have they failed to show appreciation; but some of them, in their soulless ingratitude, have conspired to eliminate me. They were not provoked by wrongdoing on my part. Their venom is rooted in envy, cowardice, and a desperate desire to cover their nakedness by destroying the very hand that once shielded them.
The irony is both painful and profound: that those who were pulled out of the pit will turn around and dig a deeper pit for their rescuer. This is the darkest face of human ingratitude. Even the annals of the Biafran struggle, if truth were laid bare, would reveal names; names that, if spoken, would shake the very soul of our people. Names of those who sold their conscience to the devil, yet parade themselves before the gullible as saints of the struggle.
But my message to such betrayers is simple and unshaken: you are not my Creator. Before I was formed in my mother’s womb, God ordained me for this divine mission. It was prophesied in my childhood that I would be a voice for the voiceless, and that mission remains sealed by covenant. Therefore, no mortal, no matter how venomous, shall derail my divine assignment. Many have tried in the past; they all failed. Others will try tomorrow; they too shall fall like their predecessors.
Those who attempt to frustrate a divine mandate must never forget that they are not contending with man but with God Himself. If they doubt this truth, they need only look back at the calamities that befell others who once lifted a hand against me. God remains my fortress and shield.
I am, and will remain, a special gift from God to humanity, on a mission to impact lives, defend the oppressed, and uphold justice without fear or favour. That covenant with God stands unshaken, and no mortal hand can sever it.
In the end, gratitude ennobles; ingratitude debases. Gratitude builds bridges; ingratitude burns them. Gratitude is the language of the soul; ingratitude is the death of the soul. The world remembers and honours those who were grateful; it forgets and curses those who betrayed their benefactors.
So let it be written; so let it be known: those who bite the finger that fed them, those who stab in the back their rescuers, are not just fighting man; they are fighting God. And in such a battle, the outcome has never been in doubt. "
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