COURT SETS ASIDE LPDC’S THREE-YEAR SUSPENSION OF JOE GADZAMA, SAN

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has set aside the three-year suspension imposed on senior lawyer Joe Gadzama, SAN, by the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC).

Justice Obiora Egwuatu, in a ruling delivered in Abuja, assumed jurisdiction to review the disciplinary decision and granted some of the reliefs sought by Gadzama against the sanction imposed by the LPDC.

The court also questioned the constitutionality of enforcing the disciplinary decision against the senior lawyer without an effective avenue for appeal. It declared that the implementation of the LPDC’s directive, in the absence of an effective appellate mechanism, was inconsistent with relevant provisions of the Nigerian Constitution.

Justice Egwuatu further restrained the parties involved from implementing or enforcing the LPDC’s decision delivered on 29 July 2026, pending the establishment of an appropriate mechanism through which the decision can be appealed.

The ruling therefore places the enforcement of the three-year suspension on hold and raises broader questions about the procedures for handling professional disciplinary disputes within Nigeria’s legal profession.

The decision underscores the importance of providing legal practitioners with an effective avenue to challenge disciplinary decisions before such sanctions are enforced.