Oyinlola’s lawyer loses practising licence to APC over PDP
The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee has expelled a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Kunle Kalejaye, from further practising as a lawyer.
The LPDC disbarred Kalejaye after finding him guilty of professional misconduct. A five-man panel of the LPDC, led by the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, conducted the investigation.
The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee has expelled a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Kunle Kalejaye, from further practising as a lawyer.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Kunle Kalejaye |
The LPDC disbarred Kalejaye after finding him guilty of professional misconduct. A five-man panel of the LPDC, led by the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, conducted the investigation.
The LPDC found Kalejaye guilty of misconduct while representing the
Peoples Democratic Party and its then candidate, Prince Olagunsoye
Oyinlola, at the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal,
where Oyinlola’s victory in the 2007 poll was being challenged by the
then candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola.
Kalejaye was said to have engaged in a “confidential, private and
confidential telephone conversation” with the Chairman of the Osun State
Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, Justice Thomas Naron, without
the knowledge of the other party.
He allegedly engaged in the unprofessional act between March and June
2008 and the Justice Naron with whom he committed the misconduct had
since February 20, 2013 been compulsorily retired by the National
Judicial Council.
The Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal, Ekiti Division, Justice
Paul Galinje, who read the directive (judgment of the LPDC), held that
the prosecution, the Nigerian Bar Association, proved its three count
complaints against Kalejaye.
The NBA was represented by Jibrin Okutepa (SAN).
He held that Kalejaiye violated the provisions of sections 1, 15, 30,
31, 34 and 55 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal
Practitioners (2007).
The panel directed the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court to delete
his name from the roll (list) of legal practitioners in the country.
The committee also directed that its decision should be served on the
President of the Nigerian Bar Association, the Chief Judges of all the
states of the federation, the Chief Judge of Federal High Court, Chief
Judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, the Inspector
General of Police and all the states’ Commissioners of Police.
It also directed that the decision be published in the media.
Kalejaiye’s lawyer, Niyi Owolade, a former Attorney General of Osun State, had objected to the LPDC’s decision.
He said his client was about filing his appeal at the Supreme Court.
Under the Legal Practitioners Act, Kalejaiye has up to 28 days to appeal the decision, failing which it will become effective.
Kalejaiye represented the PDP and Oyinlola at the Governorship Election
Petition Tribunal which heard the petition by the ACN and its candidate
in the 2007 governorship election, Aregbesola.
The LPDC rejected Kalejaiye’s defence to the effect that his telephone number was cloned.
The committee held that while Kalejaye was able to show, by expert
evidence, that spoofing as a general phenomenon was possible, he failed
to show that spoofing was possible on the MTN network which owned the
lines with which Kalejaiye and Naron communicated.
He was said to have only demonstrated such possibility with Etisalat and Glo networks.
The committee also faulted Kalejaiye’s documentary evidence, mostly
newspaper publications (including advertorial sponsored by Kalejaiye),
faulting the authenticity of the call log from MTN.
The committee said it would have been more helpful had Kalejaiye applied
and got his call log from MTN to prove that the one tendered by the
prosecution was not the actual one.