No sacred cow in legal ethics fight — Ejiofor

By Nwabueze Okonkwo

ONITSHA — A lawyer, Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has called for equal application of professional disciplinary standards in the legal profession, saying there should be no “sacred cow” in the fight against unethical conduct, regardless of whether those involved are ordinary lawyers or Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs.

Ejiofor made the call while commenting on a petition by the Strategic Public Interest Legal Advocates, SPI-LAW, against former Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, Abubakar Malami, SAN, currently before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, LPDC.

In a statement titled, “No Sacred Cows at the Bar: SPI-LAW’s Petition Against Former AGF Abubakar Malami and the Imperative of Professional Accountability,” Ejiofor urged the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, and relevant professional bodies to ensure that allegations of professional misconduct were examined through due process.

He said the petition should not be restricted to the LPDC but should, where legally appropriate, also be brought to the attention of the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria and the Body of Benchers.

Ejiofor said he was concerned that the NBA had not, in his view, sufficiently addressed the alleged professional dimensions of the issues surrounding Malami, while some of the matters were being pursued through other legal processes.

“I do not wish to dwell on the alleged manner in which Malami conducted himself in office, or on the various acts attributed to him which, if established, would be unbecoming of a learned Senior Advocate, much less a holder of the exalted office of Attorney-General of the Federation,” he said.

He commended SPI-LAW for petitioning the LPDC over alleged professional misconduct, saying the petition relied principally on findings contained in an International Chamber of Commerce, ICC, Tribunal’s September 16, 2026 Final Award in ICC Case No. 26260/SPN/AB/CPB, involving Sunrise Power and Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN Limited and another against the Federal Government of Nigeria.

According to Ejiofor, SPI-LAW is asking the LPDC to determine whether conduct attributed to Malami in the arbitral award amounts to professional misconduct under Rule 1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners, 2023, and Section 11 of the Legal Practitioners Act.

He said the petition was filed in the public interest under Rule 4 of the LPDC Rules, 2020, and asked the disciplinary body to determine whether there was a case to answer and, if so, invite Malami to respond to the allegations.

“This question, in my respectful view, deserves to be examined fully and without fear or favour,” Ejiofor said.

Calls for wider professional review

Ejiofor noted that the ICC tribunal had rejected Sunrise Power’s claims and ordered the company and Adesanya to reimburse Nigeria $11.82 million in legal fees and $414,125 in arbitration costs.

He stressed, however, that the disciplinary proceedings should not be treated as a substitute for criminal proceedings, noting that the allegations should be independently determined through the appropriate disciplinary process.

“I, however, wish to add and respectfully insist that this petition should not be limited to the LPDC alone. It should, where legally appropriate, extend to the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria and the Body of Benchers. This is profoundly long overdue,” he said.

Ejiofor also referred to what he described as a previous instance in which the NBA relied on decisions from foreign proceedings to petition against a Senior Advocate while the substantive matter was before a court.

He argued that the same principle should apply in the present circumstances.

“What is good for the goose is good for the gander,” he said.

The lawyer further called on the NBA to examine allegations of what he described as “disgraceful and infamous conduct” involving senior political office holders who remain members of the legal profession.

He argued that professional obligations should apply equally to all members of the Bar, regardless of their political positions or status within the profession.

“Indeed, in some instances, persons within this category are themselves members of the very high-echelon bodies earlier highlighted,” he said.

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