The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) has dismissed a petition filed against the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Okezie Kalu, ruling that the complaint failed to establish a prima facie case.
The decision, contained in a Certified True Copy referenced BB/LPDC/1954/2026, effectively ends the disciplinary proceedings against the lawmaker without requiring him to respond to the allegations. The ruling was signed by Umeh Kalu, SAN, a senior member of the LPDC panel.
The petition was filed by lawyer John Aikpokpo Martins, who alleged that Kalu — formerly known as Benjamin Okezie Osisiogu — simultaneously participated in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme while attending the Nigerian Law School, in what he described as a breach of the NYSC Act.
According to the petitioner, the alleged dual participation amounted to false declarations which he claimed formed the basis of Kalu’s call to the Bar on September 6, 2011, and his enrolment on the Roll of Legal Practitioners at the Supreme Court of Nigeria on October 5, 2011.
But the disciplinary body found the petition defective both procedurally and substantively.
The LPDC observed that the Statement of Facts accompanying the complaint was incorrectly addressed to the Chairman of the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee instead of the LPDC chairman as required under Rule 4 of the LPDC Rules, 2020. While the panel noted the error, it chose not to rely solely on that procedural flaw in reaching its decision.
More fundamentally, the committee ruled that the issues raised in the petition fell outside its jurisdiction.
It explained that the LPDC’s mandate is limited to regulating the professional conduct of legal practitioners in the discharge of their duties, as provided under Section 10 of the Legal Practitioners Act.
The panel stated that matters relating to admission into the Nigerian Law School, participation in the NYSC scheme, and enrolment on the Roll of Legal Practitioners involve other statutory bodies and cannot be investigated by 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.
It further held that the alleged actions cited in the petition took place before Kalu was called to the Bar, placing them outside the disciplinary committee’s oversight.
On that basis, the panel concluded that the complaint failed to disclose any case requiring further disciplinary inquiry.
“No prima facie case is established,” the committee ruled, effectively clearing the deputy speaker of the allegations.
Efforts to obtain Kalu’s reaction to the ruling were unsuccessful as calls and text messages sent to him had not been responded to as of the time this report was filed.
LPDC Throws Out Petition Against Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu
