LPDC disbars Nigerian lawyer, suspends three others

The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) has disbarred one lawyer and suspended three others for professional misconduct.

The LPDC ordered Abikoye Timothy’s name to be struck off from the roll of legal practitioners following his involvement in alleged fraudulent activities.

Mr Timothy was accused of collecting N2,359,000 as a professional fee for legal services he failed to deliver. His attempts to settle the matter with a dud cheque further compounded his legal troubles.

On Wednesday, the National Publicity Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Akorede Lawal, shared the LPDC’s notices of disbarment of Mr Timothy and the suspension of others in a statement. The LPDC chairperson, Ishaq Bello, a retired judge and former Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Abuja, signed each of the notices.

In the notice of Mr Timothy’s disbarment, the LPDC ordered him to refund the total amount to his victim, Sameer Vaswani, Managing Director of A & P Foods Ltd.

Mr Timothy’s case was brought before the LPDC in 2016.

His disbarment, effective immediately, marks the culmination of years of the legal process.

However, the LPDC’s decision is not final. Mr Timothy and others displeased with the LPDC’s decisions have the right to appeal directly to the Supreme Court.

Other sanctions

In addition to Mr Timothy’s disbarment, the LPDC sanctioned three other lawyers:

The LPDC ordered the suspension of Jonathan Nwagwu from legal practice for three years, starting from 24 April 24.

He was also ordered to refund about N1.9 million (N1,943,043.70) to the petitioner who lodged misconduct complaints, including the misuse of the client’s funds, against him.

The LPDC also suspended Edward Oseghale from practising law for two years from 8 May 2023.

Mr Oseghale’s suspension is tied to a forgery scandal, where he was accused of procuring fake court judgements to evict tenants unlawfully.

His actions, described as a severe breach of legal ethics, received widespread condemnation from the legal community.

The LPDC also ordered the suspension of Mr Agwuna for two years from 20 February 2024.

Mr Agwuna’s case is about using derogatory and insulting language in a letter to the Chief Judge of Anambra State, where he accused a magistrate of corruption.

The LPDC found his actions to be a gross violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners, mandating lawyers to advocate for their clients with maximum respect for the judiciary.

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In the legal notices, the LPDC directed the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, the custodian of the roll call of lawyers called to the Nigerian Bar, to carry out the disbarment and suspension orders.

The LPDC urged the Chief Justice of Nigeria, heads of all courts across Nigeria, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Attorneys-General of states to take note and act on the legal notices.

The NBA, which brings complaints against lawyers and serves as the prosecutor before the LPDC, also informed its members to take note of the disciplinary decisions taken against the four lawyers.