The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee has fixed September 30, 2026, to rule on a petition accusing a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ikechukwu Ezechukwu, and two other lawyers of alleged professional misconduct arising from a disputed Abuja property transaction.
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The other respondents in the petition are Smart Ukpanah and Hope Onyekwere. They are accused of professional misconduct, criminal misrepresentation, forgery and perjury, allegations which remain unproven pending the committee’s determination.
At the committee’s last sitting, counsel to the respondents, D.O. Okolo, urged the panel to dismiss the petition on the ground that the petitioner, Kingsley Aneubuna, had indicated that he was no longer interested in pursuing it.
Okolo informed the committee that Aneubuna had forwarded a letter notifying the panel of his intention to withdraw the petition, adding that the petitioner was aware of the proceedings but failed to appear.
“The petitioner forwarded a letter notifying the committee of the intention to withdraw the petition. The petitioner is very much aware of the proceedings but is not before the panel,” he said.
After hearing the respondents’ submissions, the committee, chaired by Kalu Umeh, SAN, reserved its ruling until September 30.
At an earlier sitting, the respondents had similarly informed the committee that the petitioner was no longer interested in the matter and had failed to attend despite being aware of the proceedings.
Umeh, however, declined their request for the petition to be dismissed, holding that the committee’s rules did not permit the withdrawal of a petition after the parties had joined issues.
“Since issues have been joined, we are obligated by the rules of this committee to adopt the processes filed by the petitioner,” the LPDC chairman said.
The petition arose from a dispute over Plot No. 713, Cadastral Zone B14, Dutse District, Abuja, involving Dr Ngozika Nwaneri, Uche Okoli and his company, Multi Shelters Limited.
Okoli, Multi Shelters Limited and Nwaneri are claimants in Suit No. FCT/HC/CV/1182/2018, Uche Okoli & Ors. v. Economic and Financial Crimes Commission & Ors., in which they claim ownership of the property.
According to the petition, Aneubuna was offered a terrace duplex on the disputed property in 2018 by Okoli and Multi Shelters Limited, who were said to be clients of Ezechukwu, for ₦51 million.
The petitioner alleged that before making payment, he and his lawyer sought clarification from the SAN about the legal status of the property and were assured that it had a clean and unencumbered title.
Relying on the alleged assurances, Aneubuna accepted the offer, made the required payment and executed an agreement for the transaction.
The petition stated that the project was expected to be completed within two years, during which the petitioner was also required to complete payment for the property.
It alleged that when Aneubuna later complained about the slow pace of construction, he was assured that the property would still be delivered within the agreed period.
The petitioner claimed that he subsequently discovered in 2021 that litigation concerning the property had commenced in 2018 through Suit No. FCT/HC/CV/1182/2018, which was filed by the SAN.
He further alleged that Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf, who presided over the matter, had granted an injunction concerning the property in 2018.
Aneubuna also alleged that he was joined as a co-claimant in the suit without his knowledge or consent.
According to the petition, Ukpanah allegedly filed court processes and appeared on behalf of Aneubuna and other subscribers to the property without obtaining their authorisation.
The petitioner further alleged that Onyekwere testified in court on behalf of him and other subscribers without their knowledge or approval.
The petition also accused Ezechukwu of tendering an allegedly forged version of the agreement between the petitioner and the SAN’s clients.
Aneubuna claimed that the document contained a forged signature and was backdated to 2012, instead of 2018 when the original agreement was allegedly executed.
He further alleged that both the disputed document and the genuine agreement were prepared by the SAN, who allegedly knew that litigation over the property was pending when the property was offered for sale in 2018.
According to the petition, Aneubuna paid for the property in reliance on alleged representations made by the SAN and his clients concerning the ownership and legal status of the land.
The petitioner later engaged another lawyer to apply for his name to be removed from the pending court case before filing Petition No. BB/LPDC/760/2022 against the three legal practitioners.
He asked the LPDC to investigate the respondents and determine whether their alleged conduct violated the professional standards governing legal practitioners in Nigeria.
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