Firm drags lawyer to disciplinary committee over alleged gross misconduct

From Godwin Tsa, Abuja

A real estate firm, Abey Signatures Limited, has dragged a legal practitioner, Henry Otu, before the legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC), for allegedly obtaining a fraudulent judgment, gross misconduct and acts unbecoming of a legal practitioner.

In a petition before the LPDC, the petitioner is asking for sanctions against him.

The petition signed by the Chairman of the Company, Cecil Osakwe, urged the Committee to investigate and take the necessary actions.

He said: “I am the Managing Director and Chairman of Abey Signature Ltd, the managers and owner of Abeh Apartment, located at 1, Mekong Close, Maitama, and Abuja, Nigeria. Sir, we write with a heavy heart, especially when we see the profession being brought to serious disrepute by persons and character of Henry K.Otu, lawyer with Law Corridor, in Asokoro, Abuja.

“We instituted a suit against one Asabe Waziri, who was about to purchase two blocks of flats in my apartment in Maitama, and her conduct, after she was given possession, had posed serious threat to other potential buyers and tenants in the property. 

We had appealed to her to vacate the property and get a refund since we cannot accommodate her attitude any further. She resisted and we instituted a case against her in court,” he added.

The chairman pointed out that “On February 17, 2022, His Lordship, Hon Justice Musa Othman, delivered his judgment against her and ordered that all her money be refunded to her, and that she vacates the premises. On March 18, 2022, the judgment was enforced as she was vacated from the premises.

“She appealed against the decision and the case  has been transmitted and entered at the Court of Appeal. This case is coming up on June 29, 2022. Sir, the said Asabe Waziri was represented by Oyefeso Esq, both at the trial court and at the Appeal. However, shortly after the appeal was entered, Asabe engaged Henry Otu. K of the Law Firm of Law Corridor to obviously do an illegal and hatchet job.

He further said that “this magistrate, due to undue influence, granted the order and directed the Director, Enforcement, to reinstate the appellant.

As if that was not enough, Henry Out, of the Law Firm of Law Corridor, without service of the order to us and our company, went further to enforce the same order procured irregularly.