The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) has dismissed a complaint filed against the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, on the ground that no prima facie case was established against him.
The LPDC panel held that the allegations bordering on NYSC participation, Nigerian Law School training, and enrolment at the Supreme Court fall entirely outside the LPDC’s jurisdiction as it dismissed the complaint for being fundamentally flawed both procedurally and substantively.
The panel noted that the Statement of Facts was erroneously addressed to the Chairman of the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee rather than the Chairman of the LPDC, as required under Rule 4 of the LPDC Rules, 2020. While the panel chose to overlook this error, it could not rescue the complaint on merit.
The LPDC stressed that it is established solely to regulate the professional conduct of enrolled legal practitioners in the discharge of their duties to the public, as provided under Section 10 of the Legal Practitioners Act.
It will be recalled that the complaint was brought by one John Martins, who alleged that Representative Kalu, formerly known as Benjamin Okezie Osisiogu before a legal name change, had simultaneously participated in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme while attending the Nigerian Law School, in alleged violation of the NYSC Act.
