The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee has dismissed a petition filed against the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, ruling that the complaint failed to establish a prima facie case.
In its decision, the committee held that the allegations raised in the petition fell outside its jurisdiction, thereby rendering the complaint legally unsustainable.
The case was brought before the committee by a petitioner identified as John Martins, who alleged irregularities relating to Kalu’s academic and national service records.
According to the petition, the Deputy Speaker allegedly participated in the National Youth Service Corps scheme while simultaneously attending the Nigerian Law School.
The petitioner argued that such a situation would violate provisions of the NYSC Act.
The complaint also referenced Kalu’s enrolment as a legal practitioner at the Supreme Court of Nigeria, raising questions about the sequence of his legal training and national service.
However, the disciplinary committee ruled that the issues raised in the petition do not fall within its mandate.
According to the panel, the LPDC is primarily responsible for regulating the professional conduct of lawyers in their legal practice, as provided under Section 10 of the Legal Practitioners Act.
The committee concluded that the matters cited in the complaint related to administrative or institutional processes rather than professional misconduct in legal practice.
In addition to jurisdictional concerns, the panel observed procedural defects in the petition.
The statement of facts submitted by the complainant was incorrectly addressed to the chairman of the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee instead of the chairman of the LPDC, contrary to Rule 4 of the LPDC Rules 2020.
Although the panel acknowledged the error, it noted that the procedural mistake alone did not determine the outcome, as the complaint also failed on substantive grounds.
Following its review, the committee dismissed the petition entirely, effectively clearing the Deputy Speaker of the allegations.
The ruling ends the disciplinary proceedings against Kalu before the LPDC, though it does not prevent any other competent authority from examining related issues should new evidence arise.
