Gadzama banned from practicing law for three years

The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) has suspended Joe-Kyari Gadzama, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), from practicing law for three years. This is due to his involvement in the case of victims and survivors of the 2001 military attack on Zaki Biam in Benue State.

The LPDC announced this decision on Wednesday. The action followed a complaint by a lawyer named Chris Alash, who accused Mr Gadzama of unprofessional and unethical behavior concerning the Zaki Biam case.

The committee also suspended another lawyer, Ocha Ulegede, for two years. This information was reported by TheCable. The suspension takes effect immediately from the date it was announced. The LPDC has asked all heads of superior courts in Nigeria to implement this decision.

The committee stated that both Mr Gadzama and Mr Ulegede violated several rules in the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners, 2023. Mr Gadzama has been practicing law for 40 years and represented around 40 victims and survivors in this case.

Mr Gadzama disagreed with the ruling. He said the claims that he improperly took over another lawyer's case, solicited clients, and wrongly took professional fees related to the Zaki Biam case were baseless. He explained that the complaint stemmed from a dispute over legal representation and professional fees.

The issues were about how to handle the case of Zaki Biam attack victims and the N8 billion the federal government agreed to pay as part of a settlement. In October 2001, Nigerian soldiers attacked Zaki Biam on orders from former President Olusegun Obasanjo. This happened after suspected Tiv militia killed 19 soldiers in the area during clashes with the Jukun people.

As a result, Mr Obasanjo ordered an invasion of communities in four local government areas of Benue State. This operation lasted several days and led to the deaths of many innocent people and the destruction of homes.

After the attack, some survivors and families of victims took the federal government to court in Enugu State, seeking compensation for the deaths and property destruction. In July 2007, Justice Lewis Allagoa ruled that the federal government should pay N41.8 billion to the plaintiffs.

Although the federal government appealed the ruling, they later negotiated a settlement that reportedly resulted in an N8 billion agreement. In 2015, two prominent lawyers, Itsay Sagay and Mike Ozekhome, cautioned the federal government against giving this amount to Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam.

This compensation payment sparked the disputes between Mr Gadzama and the lawyer who filed the complaint. In his statement rejecting the LPDC’s ruling, Mr Gadzama insisted the allegations against him were unfounded. He explained he was directly hired by the judgment creditors and acted according to their instructions.

He believed the evidence presented to the committee did not support the findings against him. Mr Gadzama has asked his lawyers to appeal the ruling at the Supreme Court, which can review LPDC decisions.

He expressed confidence that the Supreme Court would look closely at the legal and factual issues and make a fair decision. Mr Gadzama also emphasized that his appeal means he can still practice law while the appeal is ongoing.

He told his clients, colleagues, friends, and the public that his right to practice law is still intact until the appeal concludes. He pointed out that according to the Legal Practitioners Act, filing an appeal on time stops the ruling from taking effect while the appeal is being decided.