The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee has dismissed a petition seeking disciplinary action against the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Okezie Kalu. The panel ruled that no prima facie case was established and held that the issues raised were outside its disciplinary jurisdiction.
In a certified true copy of the decision dated Wednesday and referenced BB/LPDC/1954/2026, the committee said the allegations did not warrant further proceedings. The petition was filed by lawyer John Martins.
Martins alleged that Kalu, formerly known as Benjamin Okezie Osisiogu, took part in the National Youth Service Corps scheme while also attending the Nigerian Law School before being called to the Bar in 2011. He argued that the alleged dual participation breached provisions of the NYSC Act and involved false declarations.
The petitioner maintained that the alleged irregularities formed the basis for Kalu’s call to the Bar on September 6, 2011, and his enrolment on the Roll of Legal Practitioners at the Supreme Court on October 5, 2011.
However, the disciplinary panel, in an opinion signed by senior member Umeh Kalu (SAN), ruled that the filing was procedurally flawed and beyond the committee’s mandate.
The committee noted that the statement of facts attached to the application was wrongly addressed to the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee instead of the disciplinary body as required by its rules. Although the panel overlooked the filing error, it declined to consider the substance of the claims.
According to the ruling, the allegations involved criminal matters relating to false declarations and alleged fraudulent enrolment, which fall outside the committee’s scope. It further stated that the events cited occurred before the respondent was formally enrolled as a legal practitioner.
The panel added that it lacked the authority to review the operations of institutions involved in legal training and certification, including the Nigerian Law School, the Council of Legal Education, the NYSC, and the Body of Benchers.
It clarified that the committee’s statutory role is limited to regulating the professional conduct of lawyers in active legal practice and handling complaints arising from their duties to the public.
The panel concluded that the petitioner failed to present sufficient evidence to justify inviting the respondent to defend the claims, stressing that no prima facie case had been made.
Efforts to obtain a response from Benjamin Okezie Kalu were unsuccessful as calls and messages sent to him were not answered as of the time of filing this report.
