Wome Moses, Esq V. Nigerian Bar Association (2019)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

AMINA ADAMU AUGIE, J.S.C.

The Appellant, a Legal Practitioner practicing in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, represented a Member of the Rumu-Amadi Family at the High Court of Rivers State, in a case involving family land.

The Appellant’s client lost at the High Court and he appealed to Court of Appeal, which is when things got out of hand, leading up to a Petition written by the Representatives of the Family to the Chairman of the Respondent [the NBA]’s Port-Harcourt Branch.

In the Petition dated 23/3/2013, it was alleged that while the matter was on appeal, Appellant partitioned the family land and sold plots of land; and he misrepresented himself as the Family’s lawyer and began negotiating more sales without valid authority.

The Petition was referred to the Disciplinary Committee of the NBA, who after its investigations, made the following findings:

Parties were invited by the panel to give oral evidence. A thorough examination of the evidence, both oral and documentary, by the Panel revealed that the land for which the Respondent received advanced

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payment and issued receipt therefor was part of the land in dispute, now on appeal. It is, therefore, the conclusion of the Panel that the Respondent [i.e. Appellant] tampered with the subject of litigation, contrary to Rules 30 and 32(k) of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2007.

Armed with the said Report of its Disciplinary Committee, the NBA [Respondent] filed a Complaint against the Appellant at the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee [LPDC]; it states as follows:

1. That you Wome Moses, Esq., Male, a Legal Practitioner, practicing in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State retained by Franklin Amadi represented the aforesaid Franklin Amadi in a case invoking family land of Rumu-Amadi Family in the High Court of Rivers State and that the Suit was decided against your client and you thus appealed to the Court of Appeal and that while the Appeal is pending, you assisted your client in partitioning the land and sold the plots of land to unsuspecting members of the public and by so doing, you have failed to maintain the high standard of professional conduct expected of a Legal Practitioner by engaging in an illegal conduct all contrary to

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Rules 1, 15(i) and (j), 55 and liable under Section 12 of the Legal Practitioners Act 2004 as Amended.

2. That you Wome Moses, a Legal Practitioner practicing in Port-Harcourt in a Suit involving landed property owned by Amadi family and known as Rumu-Amadi Family land without the authority of the Family partitioned the land and sold plots of the land while the appeal filed by you is pending and by so doing have conducted yourself in a manner inconsistent with your status as a Minister in the Temple of Justice and in a manner that will adversely affect the administration of justice all contrary to Rules 1, 30, 32 (k) 55 and liable under Section 12 of the Legal Practitioners Act 2004 as amended.

In its Final Direction delivered on 11/11/2015, the LPDC found him guilty of infamous conduct in the course of performing his duty as a Legal Practitioner “as set out in Counts 1 and 2 of the Complaint”; and it directed the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court to strike out the name of the Appellant from the roll of Legal Practitioners.

The Appellant appealed to this Court with a Notice of Appeal containing six Grounds of Appeal. However, the Respondent

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