LPDC suspends police lawyer for three years over professional misconduct

The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) has imposed a three-year suspension on one Abubuike Sylvester for professional misconduct.

Sylvester was suspended following an application filed in November 2020 by Ayodele Kusamotu, a lawyer.

Kusamotu had accused Sylvester of intimidation and harassment by choosing to file, prosecute and serve an information charge against him, despite a subsisting order from a federal high court in Lagos prohibiting any action arising from a petition written against him in 2018.

The petition, addressed to the assistant commissioner of police, special fraud unit (SFU), had alleged that Kusamotu is “a crony being used to execute fraudulent activities with his client” — Hexing Electrical Company Ltd against another company, Chris Ejik International Agencies Ltd.

Kusamotu alleged that despite his statement on oath refuting the allegations, the SFU continued to harass him and threatened to discontinue representing his client.

Consequently, he filed a fundamental human rights enforcement proceedings against them with suit No FHC/L/CS/210/2019; and the respondent (Sylvester) represented the police as a counsel.

He said despite getting a judgment in his favour in December 2019 and enforcing the judgment, the respondent served him with an Information with Charge No ID/11004C/2019 in November 2020 which was also signed by the respondent.

This prompted Kasamotu to drag Sylvester before the LPDC.

In his defence, Sylvester argued that he acted in his capacity as a public officer under the employment of the Nigeria police force.

In its verdict, however, the LPDC, on December 19, held that Sylvester, as a legal practitioner and being fully aware of the attorney-client relationship existing between the applicant and Hexing having appeared as counsel in the case, ought to have given legal advice to the commissioner of police against filing the information charge.

“There is a clear case of “intimidation” and “harassment” of the Applicant by the Respondent who, eleven months after the petition had been declared “frivolous” and “baseless” and a restraining order issued, caused to be served on the Applicant the Charge in Exhibit AMK 9 which was prepared and signed by him,” the LPDC ruled.

“We are satisfied that the Respondent had no legal justification to file Exhibit AMK 9, no legal justification to cause it to be served on 11th day of November 2020 eleven months after the judgment of the FHC declaring the petition leading to the charges as ‘baseless’ and ‘frivolous’.

“On the whole, we are satisfied, that the applicant has established a case of professional misconduct against the respondent. We find the respondent guilty of contravening the provisions of Rules 1, 15(3)(b), 30, 32(3) and 37(5) of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners punishable by virtue of Rule 74.

“Consequently, upon the foregoing, we find the Respondent guilty of misconduct which ‘constitutes an infraction of acceptable standard of behaviour or ethics of the legal professional’.

“His conduct is both despicable and morally reprehensible as to bring the legal profession into disrepute… Worst still, his target was another member of the profession, his learned brother and colleague.

“We hereby find the respondent Azubuike Sylvester ESQ. with enrolment number SCN 082664 guilty of professional misconduct in the performance of his duty as a Legal Practitioner contrary to Rules 1, 15(3) (b), 30, 32(3), 37(5) of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners.

“We are satisfied that the proper order to make is to direct that the respondent Azubuike Sylvester  ESQ. be and is hereby suspended from the roll of legal practitioners for a period of three years from the date of this direction.”

The LPDC directed the chief registrar of the supreme court to effect the order and make a notation against the respondent’s name on the roll of legal practitioners.

Copies of the directive are to be sent to relevant legal stakeholders including the chief justice of Nigeria, all heads of court and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).