Mujeeb Akindoyin
The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee has suspended a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Joe Kyari Gadzama, from legal practice for three years over professional misconduct linked to the prolonged dispute surrounding the payment of the N8bn compensation awarded to victims of the 2001 Zaki Biam massacre in Benue State.
The committee also suspended another legal practitioner, Ocha Ulegede, from practising law for two years after finding both lawyers guilty of breaching the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners, 2023.
The decision was delivered by the LPDC, chaired by Justice Halima Ibrahim, following disciplinary proceedings initiated through a petition marked BB/LPDC/1314/2024 and filed by Abuja-based lawyer, Chris Alashi.
The committee directed the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, Kabir Akanbi, to notify the apex court of the sanctions imposed on the two lawyers.
It further ordered that the heads of all superior courts of record in the country, as well as the Inspector-General of Police, be informed of the disciplinary action.
In its findings, the LPDC held that Gadzama improperly solicited clients who were already being represented by Alashi in the compensation matter, an act the committee described as a violation of established ethical rules governing legal practice.
The committee also faulted Gadzama’s role in proceedings before the Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Inyang Ekwo, which led to orders setting aside two earlier judgments of the Court of Appeal and paved the way for him to assume representation in the case.
The disciplinary action marks the latest twist in the legal battle over compensation for victims of the Zaki Biam massacre, one of Nigeria’s deadliest military operations.
The massacre occurred in October 2001 after 19 soldiers were killed in Benue State. In a retaliatory operation, troops invaded Zaki Biam and neighbouring communities, where hundreds of civilians were reportedly killed, scores injured and homes and property destroyed.
Following the incident, survivors and relatives of the victims, alongside 13 other plaintiffs, instituted a fundamental rights enforcement suit against the Federal Government at the Federal High Court in Enugu, seeking compensation for alleged unlawful killings, destruction of property and violations of their constitutional rights.
The plaintiffs were represented by a legal team comprising Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Sebastian Hon, Ocha Ulegede and Chris Alashi.
On July 5, 2007, Justice Lewis Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Enugu, awarded the plaintiffs N41.8bn as damages against the Federal Government.
Although the Federal Government challenged the judgment, both parties later entered negotiations aimed at resolving the dispute out of court. The talks reportedly resulted in an agreement to reduce the compensation from N41.8bn to N8bn.
Fresh controversy, however, erupted over plans to channel the negotiated N8bn compensation through the Benue State Government during the administration of former Governor Gabriel Suswam.
The victims and their lawyers rejected the arrangement, insisting that the compensation should be paid directly to the successful litigants since the Benue State Government was not a party to the suit.
They also maintained that the negotiated settlement had not been adopted by the court as a consent judgment, arguing that any payment outside the judicial process lacked legal backing.
The disagreement over the implementation of the settlement triggered years of litigation and professional disputes among lawyers involved in the matter, culminating in the LPDC’s decision to sanction Gadzama and Ulegede for professional misconduct.
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