The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, LPDC, has been petitioned to investigate promoters of the Nigerian Law Society, NLS, over alleged misconduct and misrepresentation.
The request was contained in a petition forwarded to the LPDC by a civic association, Abade-Toru Mangal Community Development Initiative. The petition, dated 25 July 2025, was signed by Comrade George Perewei Wilcox-Idika and Ambassador Gloria Nkechinyere Onyeabor, Executive Chairman and Executive Secretary, respectively.
Titled ‘Petition to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) against the promoters of the purported Nigerian Law Society (NLS)’, the petition alleged that the promoters engaged in professional misconduct, misrepresentation, and conduct unbecoming of legal practitioners in the promotion and operation of the Nigerian Law Society.
The petition urged the LPDC to investigate the conduct of “certain legal practitioners who have been publicly parading themselves as national officers and promoters of a purported association known as the Nigerian Law Society (NLS), an entity which the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has refused to register as an incorporated trustee and which, despite being unregistered, is actively misleading members of the legal profession.”
Setting out the background and substance of the complaint, the petition stated: “The Nigerian Law Society (NLS) and its promoters are currently embroiled in litigation with the CAC over the latter’s refusal to approve its registration as an incorporated trustee.
“Nevertheless, these individuals have continued to represent the NLS as a legitimate professional body, conducting national elections, building an online presence (https://www.nls.org.ng), and unlawfully recruiting unsuspecting members of the legal profession, especially young lawyers, into an unrecognised and unregulated structure.”
According to the petition, “of notable concern is the fact that the actions were undertaken in full knowledge of the NLS’s unregistered status. Such representation creates confusion and is capable of bringing the legal profession into disrepute, and innocent lawyers are being misled into joining a body which may render them liable to professional sanctions or delisting from the Nigerian Bar Association, as allegedly occurred in the case of a former NBA Vice President in 2024.”
The petition listed some legal practitioners as promoters of the NLS, including Chief Mela Audu Nunghe, SAN; Nimi Walson-Jack, Vice President (South), NLS; Abdulqadir Sani, Vice President (North), NLS; Steve Nwankwo, National Publicity Secretary, NLS; Niyi Adedeji, Welfare Secretary, NLS; and Chief J.K. Gadzama, SAN, as a financier and supporter of the NLS.
The petition noted that “on 23rd July 2025, the NLS conducted purported national elections and published a voters list on their website - a clear indication of impersonating a legal body.
“These actions violate the principles of professional ethics, including Rule 1 and Rule 55 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2007, which require lawyers to maintain the honour and unity of the legal profession.”
The petition urged the LPDC to investigate the conduct of the concerned legal practitioners in line with the provisions of the Legal Practitioners Act and Rules of Professional Conduct. It also called on the LPDC to issue an appropriate directive or warning regarding the status of the Nigerian Law Society and the potential consequences of continued misrepresentation.
The LPDC was further asked to impose disciplinary sanctions, if it finds merit in the allegations, in accordance with due process.
Similarly, the petition urged the LPDC to protect unsuspecting lawyers, particularly young members of the Bar, who may be misled by the promoters.
