LPPC Withdraws SAN Rank From Kunle Ogunba Esq, Bars Oluwatoyin Ajoke Bashorun Esq From Applying

LPPC Withdraws SAN Rank From Kunle Ogunba Esq, Bars Oluwatoyin Ajoke Bashorun Esq From Applying

The legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC) has once again exercised its disciplinary functions on some senior lawyers conferred/to be conferred with the rank of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

This was contained in a press release issued by the body being today, the 11 day of January, 2018 and signed by Hadizatu Mustapha Esq, Chief Registrar of Supreme Court/Secretary of the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee.

The LPPC in its statement announced the withdrawal of the nomination of Oluwatoyin Ajoke Bashorun Esq as a Senior Advocate and the announcement of the withdrawal of the rank on Kunle Ogunba SAN.

According to the statement, after a thorough investigation of the petition, the sub-committee as setup by the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (at which the Applicant was given a fair hearing) at its 129 Plenary meeting upheld the recommendations of the subcommittee to wit: That the petitioner’s petition is meritorious, having found that the Respondent stayed and continued to stay in a rented property for nine years without paying rent; that Oluwatoyin Ajoke Bashorun Esq. being an officer in the temple of Justice and an aspirant to the exalted position of Senior Advocate of Nigeria has conducted herself in a manner which is clearly in contravention of the provisions of paragraphs 18(2) (a) & (c) and 19 (a) (b) (c) & (d) of the Guidelines for the conferment of the Rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria 2016.

At the last emergency meeting which was held on 15 September, 2017; the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee by virtue of Section 5 (1) of the Legal Practitioners Act CAP Lll, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 as amended, decided to suspend the conferment of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria on Oluwatoyin Ajoke Bashorun Esq. pending the investigation of all petitions filed against her.

However, after a thorough investigation, the body came to the conclusion that the nomination for conferment of the Award of Senior Advocate of Nigeria on Oluwatoyin Ajoke Bashorun Esq. on July 6, 2017 is hereby withdrawn. The Committee also barred Oluwatoyin Ajoke Bashorun Esq. from applying for the Award of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria for the next three (3) years or three applications beginning from 2018, after which she can apply for the rank subject to good behaviour as assessed by the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee.

Kunle Ogunba SAN on the other hand was petitioned by the Honeywell Group alleging professional misconduct against him. According to the statement released by the committee, the misconduct alleged consists of the institution of multiplicity of proceedings before different judges of the Federal High Court on the same subject with the deliberate aim of abusing the process of Court and derailing the course of Justice. The Committee also, after a thorough investigation of the petition by the sub-committee set up by the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (at which the Respondent was given a fair hearing) decided that the petition is meritorious.

Consequently, the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee at its 129 Plenary Meeting has withdrawn the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria from Kunle Ogunba Esq. and all other privileges attached to the rank forthwith.

This is the first set of senior advocate (s) and senior advocate (s) to be that will be affected by the decision of the committee this year, 2018.