Gadzama Wins, As Federal High Court Nullifies LPDC Suspension, Says Its Unconstitutional

By Ayodele Oni 

Reprieve has come for the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, (SAN), Joe Gadzama, as the  Federal High Court sitting in Abuja  overturned the three-year suspension imposed on him by the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC).

In a judgment, the court declared the enforcement of the disciplinary direction against him unconstitutional and raised fundamental questions about the treatment of professional disputes within Nigeria’s legal disciplinary system.

The Court granted the reliefs sought by Gadzama SAN, declaring the direction of the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee delivered on 29 July as unconstitutional insofar as it affects Chief Gadzama.

The Court specifically declared that the implementation or enforcement of the LPDC direction against Gadzama, in the absence of an effective appellate mechanism, is inconsistent with Sections 36(1), 36(2) and 6(6)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and

is therefore unconstitutional and unlawful, further stating that the LPDC lacked jurisdiction in the matter.

The judgment follows Gadzama’s challenge to the disciplinary decision, in which he maintained that the proceedings has fundamentally misconstrued the nature of the underlying dispute and subjected him to professional discipline over circumstances arising principally from questions of representation, retainership and professional fees.

The original controversy arose from the administration and distribution of compensation arising from the Zaki-Biam litigation and involved competing claims concerning legal representation and professional fees.

Gadzama’s position throughout the proceedings was that he had never had a professional relationship with Chris Alashi, the complainant before the LPDC, and had never received instructions from him.

His case was that he has instead been separately instructed by some of the judgment creditors.

The disciplinary proceedings ultimately resulted in the LPDC directing that Gadzama be suspended from legal practice for three years, while Ocha P. Ulegede was separately suspended for two years.