…the LPDC complaint against Benjamin Kalu was filed by John Aikpokpo Martins.
Abuja, Nigeria – The iNews Times | The LPDC complaint against Benjamin Kalu has been dismissed after the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee ruled that no prima facie case was established against the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Okezie Kalu.
The ruling, contained in a Certified True Copy referenced BB/LPDC/1954/2026, was signed by Umeh Kalu, a senior member of the LPDC panel.
The committee delivered a decisive verdict in favour of the respondent, effectively closing the matter without requiring Kalu to respond to the allegations raised in the petition.
Origin of the Complaint
The LPDC complaint against Benjamin Kalu was filed by John Aikpokpo Martins, who alleged that Kalu formerly known as Benjamin Okezie Osisiogu before a legal change of name simultaneously participated in the National Youth Service Corps scheme while attending the Nigerian Law School.
The petitioner argued that such dual participation amounted to a violation of the NYSC Act.
According to the complaint, the alleged irregularity involved false declarations that supposedly formed the basis of Kalu’s call to the Bar on September 6, 2011, as well as his subsequent enrolment on the Roll of Legal Practitioners at the Supreme Court of Nigeria on October 5, 2011.
However, the LPDC panel, after reviewing the petition, concluded that the complaint was fundamentally flawed both procedurally and substantively.
Procedural Defects Identified
In its ruling, the committee first highlighted procedural shortcomings in the filing of the petition.
The panel observed that the Statement of Facts accompanying the complaint was mistakenly addressed to the Chairman of the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee instead of the Chairman of the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee.
This, according to the panel, contravenes Rule 4 of the LPDC Rules, 2020, which specifies the proper procedure for initiating complaints before the committee.
Although the panel decided to overlook the procedural error, it stated that the defect could not salvage the petition when assessed on its substantive merit.
Jurisdictional Limits of the LPDC
More significantly, the LPDC held that the allegations raised in the petition fell entirely outside its statutory jurisdiction.
The committee explained that its mandate is strictly limited to regulating the professional conduct of legal practitioners in the discharge of their duties to the public, as stipulated under Section 10 of the Legal Practitioners Act.
The panel emphasised that matters relating to NYSC participation, legal education, and the process of call to the Bar are not within the investigative scope of the LPDC.
“The LPDC cannot interrogate the operations of the Nigerian Law School, the Council of Legal Education, the NYSC and the Body of Benchers,” the ruling stated.
The committee further observed that the alleged infractions referenced in the petition assuming they occurred would have taken place before Kalu was called to the Bar.
As such, they fall outside the disciplinary jurisdiction of the committee, which only covers the professional conduct of lawyers after enrolment.
Final Verdict
After examining the complaint and the relevant legal provisions, the panel concluded that the petition did not establish any actionable wrongdoing against the Deputy Speaker.
“No prima facie case is established,” the ruling declared.
The decision effectively exonerated Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu and brought the LPDC complaint against Benjamin Kalu to a close.
As of the time of filing this report, efforts to obtain Kalu’s reaction to the ruling were unsuccessful, as calls and text messages sent to him had not received a response
