Four Lawyers De-robed, Another Suspended for Five Years

Symbol of justice

The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC)  Friday  in Abuja has directed the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court to strike off names of four lawyers from the roll of legal practitioners. Delivering the directive, Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Joseph Daudu (SAN), held that the decisions stemmed from findings of the panel that the lawyers were guilty of infamous conduct.

The affected lawyers are; Dominic Ntiero, Timipa Okponipere, G.C Monye, and J.A Agwuncha. However, Olawole Ajoge  Daniel, another affected legal practitioner was suspended for five years for similar offence bordering on professional misconduct.

On the allegation against Ntiero, Daudu said the respondent out-rightly failed to appear to defend himself.

“We were however satisfied by the Committee’s Secretary that there was due notice in the Punch Newspaper.

“The respondent’s act violated Rules 47, 50, and 51 of the Rules of Professional Conduct in the Legal Profession 2007 and Section 12 of the Legal Practitioners Act as Amended,’’ he said.

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in its complaint against the respondent alleged that Ntiero issued a dud cheque of N6.3 million to one of his client Rita Edet over a failed agreement.

In the case of Okponipere, Daudu said the respondent sometime in 2007 admitted to have given unsolicited legal services to Mr. Timi Alaibe, an ex-Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Corporation (NDDC).

Daudu held that Okponipere claimed to have nominated Alaibe for National Merit Award and therefore demanded the sum of N40 demillion.

The Chairman said that Okponipere failed to maintain the high standard of professional conduct expected of a legal practitioner.

In a similar vein, the NBA stated that Monyei, the Principal Partner at G.C Monye and Co, was engaged by GMNL sometimes in 2003 as a debt collector to recover the sum of N9.2 million from the Edo State Ministry of Justice.

According to the NBA, the money was an amount being the value of a Kodiak Bedford Vehicle (Black Maria) supplied to the Ministry.

The NBA further alleged that Monye had collected the sum of N5 million on behalf of GMNL since May 3, 2005 as a

part payment of the debt and converted to his personal use.

Duadu also ordered that the respondent should forthwith refund a total sum of N4million to the GMNL.

Deciding on the petition against Agwuncha, Duadu said the lawyer cheated his client by converting fund meant for the incorporating a company (New Resources Bureau De Change) as a limited liability company.

He held that Agwuncha took advantage of the confidence reposed in him as a lawyer to dupe the unsuspecting

client. “You failed to maintain the high standard of the professional conduct expected of a legal practitioner by engaging in a conduct unbecoming of a legal practitioner and thereby found guilty of the offence.