Disciplinary panel dismisses petition of false declarations against the deputy speaker

The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) has dismissed a petition filed against the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria, Benjamin Kalu, over alleged false declarations and contravention of the NYSC Act.

It ruled that the petition failed to establish any prima facie case against the lawmaker.

In a decision delivered on Wednesday, the disciplinary body held that the allegations were outside its jurisdiction and therefore could not form the basis for disciplinary proceedings against the deputy speaker.

The ruling, contained in a Certified True Copy referenced BB/LPDC/1954/2026 and signed by Umeh Kalu, a senior member of the LPDC panel, effectively ended the matter without requiring Mr Kalu to respond to the allegations raised by the petitioner.

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Petition against Kalu

The petition was filed by John Aikpokpo-Martins, who alleged that Mr Kalu was previously known as Benjamin Okezie Osisiogu before he legally changed his name.

According to the petitioner, the deputy speaker allegedly participated in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme while also undergoing training at the Nigerian Law School, an action he argued contravened provisions of the NYSC Act.

Mr Aikpokpo-Martins further claimed that the alleged dual participation involved false declarations, which, according to him, formed the basis for Mr Kalu’s call to the Nigerian Bar in September 2011.

He also alleged that the purported irregularities extended to Mr Kalu’s enrolment on the Roll of Legal Practitioners at the Supreme Court of Nigeria on 5 October 2011, and therefore warranted disciplinary action by the LPDC.

The petitioner consequently urged the committee to investigate the claims and sanction the deputy speaker if found culpable.

LPDC ruling

However, the LPDC panel, after reviewing the complaint and accompanying documents, found the petition defective both procedurally and substantively.

On procedural grounds, the panel noted that the petitioner had incorrectly addressed the Statement of Facts to the chairman of the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee rather than to the chairman of the LPDC, as required under Rule 4 of the LPDC Rules 2020.

Although the panel stated that it elected to overlook the procedural error in the interest of justice, it held that the complaint still failed on its merits.

The committee emphasised that its statutory mandate under Section 10 of the Legal Practitioners Act is limited strictly to regulating the professional conduct of lawyers after they have been enrolled as legal practitioners.

According to the panel, the allegations raised by the petitioner related to processes involving institutions such as the Nigerian Law School, the Council of Legal Education, the National Youth Service Corps and the Body of Benchers, which fall outside the committee’s regulatory authority.

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“The LPDC cannot interrogate the operations of the Nigerian Law School, the Council of Legal Education, the NYSC and the Body of Benchers,” the panel stated.

It further observed that the alleged actions, even if assumed to be true, occurred before Mr Kalu was called to the Bar.

As a result, the committee ruled that such claims could not be investigated or sanctioned by the LPDC.

Having found that the complaint did not disclose any basis for disciplinary action, the panel concluded that no prima facie case had been established against the deputy speaker.

“No prima facie case is established,” the ruling stated, exonerating the lawmaker.