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Akpoti-Uduaghan petitions LPDC, demands probe into Imasuen’s US disbarment

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    Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has filed a petition with the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, LPDC, calling for an investigation into Edo South Senator, Neda Imasuen, over allegations that he was disbarred from practising law in the United States, US.

    In her petition, Akpoti-Uduaghan accused Imasuen of failing to disclose his disbarment and also alleged that he violated a court order barring the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, which he chairs, from investigating her over alleged misconduct during a February 20 plenary session.

    Imasuen, a lawyer and member of the Labour Party, LP, was permanently banned from practising law in the US by the Supreme Court of New York. His disbarment stemmed from allegations that he abandoned a legal matter after receiving payment from a client, Daphne Slyfield.

    Following an investigation, a judicial grievance committee found him guilty of professional misconduct, including misappropriation of client funds and failure to cooperate with disciplinary authorities. As a result, his legal licence was revoked on May 11, 2010.

    Despite this ruling, Imasuen, it was learned, did not disclose his disbarment while building his political career in Nigeria. He was later elected to the Senate and appointed chairman of the ethics committee, a position that requires high moral and professional standards.

    Akpoti-Uduaghan, in her petition, argued that Imasuen deliberately concealed his disbarment in official documents, including the FORM EC-9 submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. She contended that his failure to disclose such critical information raises serious concerns about his eligibility to hold a role that demands unimpeachable integrity.

    In the petition, Akpoti-Uduaghan said, ” That despite this disbarment which was hinged on unethical conduct, the respondent failed to disclose this sanction both in the legal profession and political space, as a senator and was eventually made the chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, a position requiring unimpeachable integrity.

    “That the respondent did not remotely disclose his disbarment either in his FORM EC-9-Particulars of Personal information submitted to INEC on oath.”

    Akpoti-Uduaghan also submitted official US court documents confirming the disbarment of her colleague, Senator Neda Imasuen, as part of her petition to the LPDC. The documents, along with a detailed report on his disbarment, were presented as exhibits to support her call for an investigation.

    Beyond the issue of disbarment, Akpoti-Uduaghan also accused Imasuen of contempt of court for allegedly ignoring a judicial order. She stated that on March 4, the Federal High Court in Abuja issued an interim injunction preventing the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, which Imasuen chairs, from investigating her over alleged misconduct during a plenary session on February 20.

    Despite being served with the court order on March 5, Imasuen proceeded with the probe, leading to the committee’s recommendation for her six-month suspension from the Senate. Akpoti-Uduaghan argued that his actions not only undermined judicial authority but also violated the fundamental principle of the rule of law.

    However, a few days later, Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja lifted the earlier injunction after reviewing arguments from both parties in the case. Notably, Akpoti-Uduaghan did not include this development in her petition to the LPDC.

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