...Ordered To Refund Victim Within 30 Days
An Abuja-based lawyer, Everestus Chinedum Ugwuowo, has been suspended from legal practice in Nigeria for five years over his involvement in a N29 million property fraud.
The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC), in a damning verdict, found Ugwuowo guilty of “infamous conduct” after he was accused of fraudulently collecting N29 million from a client, Mrs. Grace Dauda, for the sale of a property he had no legal authority to sell.
Delivering the ruling, a five-member panel led by former Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Justice Ishaq Bello, directed that Ugwuowo be immediately suspended from the Roll of Legal Practitioners for five years.
The Committee also ordered him to refund the N29 million to the petitioner within 30 days.
According to the LPDC’s final direction dated June 20, 2025, the lawyer received the sum in September 2017 as payment for a four-bedroom duplex located at No. 11, 662 Road, Gwarinpa Estate, Abuja.
Despite acknowledging the payment on his law firm’s letterhead, Ugwuowo failed to deliver the property or issue a refund for over eight years.
“The Respondent collected N29 million from the Applicant for the sale of a house he had no authority to sell,” the Committee stated.
“Even after the true owner, Ciroma Muhammed Umar, confirmed he never authorised the sale, the Respondent neither refunded the money nor transferred any property to the Applicant.”
The Committee also noted that Ugwuowo attempted to repay the amount with a UBA cheque, which turned out to be a dud. His continued refusal to return the funds, despite multiple demands, prompted the disciplinary proceedings.
Ugwuowo, whose name appears on the Roll of Legal Practitioners with Enrollment No. SCN042446, was found to have violated Rule 1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners, 2023.
His actions were also deemed punishable under Section 12(1) of the Legal Practitioners Act, Cap. L11, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 (as amended).
The Committee directed that its ruling be circulated to the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, the Nigerian Bar Association, and the Chief Judges of courts across Nigeria, including the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Inspector-General of Police.
“The fraudulent conduct of the Respondent has brought disgrace to the legal profession,” the LPDC ruling read in part. “This direction shall serve as both a sanction and a deterrent.”
The suspension takes immediate effect, and failure to comply with the refund order may lead to further legal consequences.
PLATFORM TIMES gathered that the judgment was certified on July 1 and sighted on July 6, 2025.
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