Emeka Ephraim Ugwuonye , the lawyer to Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, who recently joined the legal team that sought the release of Mr. Kanu from Kuje prison has been reportedly temporarily barred from legal practice in Nigeria.
The former United States-based Nigerian lawyer, who was disbarred in New York and Maryland for professional misconduct, was yesterday also disbarred in Nigeria, to which he had relocated, for the same offense.
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According to a report by Daily Post, Ugwuonye’s sanction was ordered by the Nigeria’s Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, LPDC, of the Body of Benchers, a unit which punishes misconduct among lawyers.
LPDC ordered Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court of Nigeria to strike out Ugwuonye’s name.
J.S. Okutepa (SAN) who is the Chief Prosecutor of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) at the LPDC found Ugwuonye liable for fraud and promised to give details of the direction of LPDC in due course.
In response to the report, the lawyer sworn to challenge in court, any media who would publish false report about his practice, adding that the National Newspaper who had already reported what he termed “false” have few days to retract or face the lagal implication.
“For falsely claiming that I was disbarred in Maryland and New York in America, I will give Vangauard Newspapers an short opportunity to apologize to me and retract that false story.
“While I can ignore these poor bloggers trying to make a living at a time of high unemployment, I will hold accountable any supposedly reputable newspaper that lies against me maliciously.
“I am totally disappointed in Vanguard Newspapers. I would have expected them to verify a story before publishing it. Tomorrow morning, I shall give them the requisite statutory notice and demand for retraction and apology. Failure to comply will force me to initiate a defamation lawsuit against them.”
On whether he was barred in Nigeria, Ugwuonye told NAIJA CENTER NEWS that he would not make comment as “It is all smoke without fire.”
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