Charles Okike V. The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (2005)
LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report
MUSDAPHER, J.S.C.
This is an appeal against the direction or decision of the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee of the Body of Benchers established under section 11(1) of the Legal Practitioners Act, Cap. 207 as amended by Legal Practitioners (Amendment) Act, No. 21 of 1994 and brought to this court in pursuance to section 12(7) thereof. The direction was given by the committee in its proceedings No. BB/DCNB/016 of 3rd April, 2003 whereby the appellant Mr. Charles Okike, was to have his name struck off from the roll of the legal practitioners. The appellant was further ordered to refund to his client, through the petitioner, the sum of 123,000 United States Dollars. The money he misappropriated and refused to pay to his client. The matter started as the result of the petition written by one Alhaji Salisu Muhammed dated the 27th of September, 2000, addressed to the Chief Justice of Nigeria. The petitioner alleged that the appellant as a legal practitioner and representing a Japanese Company called Kaiyou System Ltd. misappropriated the sum of N14,500,000.00, which he received on behalf of his client. The petitioner claimed to be a donee of a power of attorney granted by the Japanese company aforesaid empowering him to collect the money. The Chief Justice of Nigeria forwarded the petition to the President of the Nigerian Bar Association for investigation. In his letter dated the 21st day of May, 2001, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association sent a copy of the petition to the appellant requesting him to “furnish us with your written response to the allegation.” The response was to be forwarded direct to the Nigerian Bar Association Disciplinary Committee, “Through its chairman, Chief Bandele Aiku SAN,” the appellant was given 21 days within which to react to the allegations made against him. On the 27th June, 2001, the appellant made his responses to the allegations direct to the Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association Disciplinary Committee.
In pursuance of rule 2A(2) and rule 3 of Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee Rules L.N. 69 of 1965 as amended by section 117 of 1994, the Nigerian Bar Association Disciplinary Committee Communicated its decision to the Secretary of the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, which had been established under section 11 (1) of the Legal Practitioners Act, as amended, aforesaid. The Nigerian Bar Association Disciplinary Committee after duly considering “all the available materials and felt satisfied that a prima facie case of misconduct” was established against the appellant wrote a letter addressed to the Secretary of the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee dated 19/10/1991 enclosing the petition and all the relevant materials it considered relevant in its deliberations. The Chief Justice of Nigeria was also sent a copy of the letter so that he might “consider the need to exercise his power of suspension of the legal practitioner under section 13 (2) of Legal Practitioners Act”. In its letter of 2nd May, 2002, the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, under its powers pursuant to section 11 (1) of the Legal Practitioners Act as amended, summoned the appellant to appear before it from the 18th-20th days of June, 2002 when it would consider the petition laid against him. The Committee also enclosed a copy of the petition for the response of the appellant. The appellant on the 5th of June, 2002, addressed a letter to the Secretary of the Disciplinary Committee as follows:-
“RE :BB/DCNB/016 Charles Okikie Esq.
I humbly acknowledge receipt of a notice dated the 2nd day of May, which was received on the 17th May, 2002 inviting me to respond and defend myself against allegations contained in the petition of one Alhaji Salisu Ibrahim Mohammed. A copy of the petition dated 27th September, 2000 and two of the petition’s supporting documents were also received by me. I feel constrained to immediately point out only a few relevant facts as follows:-
- That by a letter dated 2nd October, 2000, a copy of the said complaint was forwarded to the Nigerian Bar Association by the Chief Justice of Nigeria for investigation in accordance with relevant rules.
- That by a letter dated 21st May, 2001, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association asked me to respond to the allegations in the said petition as part of their investigation activities. A copy of the said petition was enclosed together with 8 supporting documents in contrast to the same petition you annexed to your notice which has only two supporting documents.
- That by a letter dated 27th June, 2001, I duly and effectively responded to the petition since your notice does not refer to or exhibit the report of the Nigerian Bar Association investigation, nor the charges in which the NBA is of the opinion that a prima facie case has been made, I must humbly ask; at whose report, on whose, authority and on what grounds this complaint is being listed for hearing from the 18th to 20th June, 2002, by the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee of the Body of Benchers I find the above anomalies even more disturbing and strange because in my response to the NBA investigation I stated quite clearly that the Power of Attorney on which the said Alhaji Salisu Ibrahim Mohammed based his petition is forged and that he does not have the permission or consent of my client, Mr. Kaihara of Kaiyou Systems Inc. to present this petition or continue to harass or intimidate me in his name. In the circumstances I would humbly ask that these obvious and serious substantive and procedural anomalies and irregularities be investigated and cleared up as soon as possible. Thanks.
Yours faithfully,
PP. Charles Okike & Associates
Signed:
Charles C. Ikechi Okike.”
The Secretary to the committee Mr. Maidama replied the appellant’s above letter on the 8th of June, 2002 and informed the appellant that the “appropriate place to raise” the issues contained in the appellant’s aforesaid letter” is before the committee itself on the dates mentioned.” “I would therefore advice you to appear before the committee on those dates so that you could be able to raise them.”The appellant was in all summoned to appear before the Disciplinary Committee, on seven different occasions to answer the complaints made against him, but the appellant failed to honour the summons. On each occasion the appellant was invited to attend the sitting of the respondent’s committee, the appellant was duly informed and warned that his refusal to attend the respondent’s proceedings might result in the respondent proceeding to hear the petition against him in his absence as provided by Regulation 7 of the Legal Practitioners (Disciplinary Committee) Rules LN 69 of 1975, as amended by Statutory Instrument No.17 of 1994. The appellant habitually would also write to acknowledge the receipt of the hearing notice, but would continue to state that the “whole matter is fundamentally flawed substantively and procedurally.” The appellant would always question the competence of the Disciplinary Committee and also the bonafide of Alhaji Salisu Ibrahim Mohammed. The matter came before the Disciplinary Committee for hearing of the petition on 3rd of April, 2003 at the Court of Appeal premises Abuja. After satisfying itself that the appellant was served and that the appellant “acknowledged the receipt of the hearing notice” and he wrote a letter in response to the summons, the Committee admitted from the bar the appellant’s said letter dated 31/3/2003 as exhibit “A” and the previous hearing notices as exhibits B-B6 and also the appellant’s responses to the hearing notices as exhibits C to C6. In doing so the committee invoked the provisions of the aforesaid regulation 7 and proceeded with the hearing of the matter. At the hearing, Alhaji Salisu Ibrahim Mohammed was the only witness called. He testified and tendered exhibit D – a copy of his petition referred to above; exhibit E, the power of attorney granted him by Mr. Kaihara, exhibit F a letter to Kano Branch of the NBA and appellant’s reply in response to the NBA Kano letter to exhibit “G”. The witness concluded his testimony thus:- “The respondent (appellant herein) has since my appointment as Mr. Kaihara’s attorney paid to me N70,000.00. The N70,000.00 was paid to me in three instalments. Respondent gave my representative to whom he paid directly a paper to sign for the amount paid. Mr. Kaihara wrote me a letter showing that I was appointed as attorney to collect money for him from his creditors (sic) (debtors) and withdrawing instructions previously given the respondent (letter received on evidence as exhibit “H”). The judgment debt was N 14.5million. The amount so far sent to Mr. Kaihara is $51,000.00. United States Dollars. The amount due to be paid to Mr. Kaihara is $123,000.00, United States Dollars …The respondent personally approached me pleading that I should allow him more time to pay as he had properties including generators to sell but he failed to pay or neglected to pay.”
The Disciplinary Committee after considering the unchallenged evidence before it, both oral and documentary whereat the appellant admitted the allegation, decided that the allegation of infamous conduct in a professional respect had been proved against the appellant and gave a direction to wit:- “(a)Ordering the registrar to strike the appellant’s name off the roll; and
(b) Ordering the appellant to refund the sum of $123,000.00 United States Dollars to the complainant petitioners.”
It is against this direction aforesaid that the appellant has now appealed to the Supreme Court under the provisions of section 12 (7) of the Legal Practitioners Act as amended. The Notice of appeal contains 10 grounds of appeal:-
- The learned members of the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee erred in law when they failed to resolve or address the issue of the substantial and fundamental procedural irregularities raised by the applicant which affected their jurisdiction to hear the Proceedings.
Particulars
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