The Legal Practitioner’s Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) has dismissed a complaint of professional misconduct filed by Ajayi Ayodeji Adeyinka against Azeez Soboyejo Esq. The committee, chaired by Hon. Justice Dr. Ishaq Bello, OFR, found no evidence to support the allegations made by the complainant.
The complaint, filed on December 22, 2020, alleged that Soboyejo had engaged in professional misconduct by representing the Adebakin family against Adeyinka in two different matters concerning the same subject matter. Adeyinka claimed that Soboyejo’s actions violated Rule 1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC) for Legal Practitioners.
However, after reviewing the affidavit evidence and exhibits submitted by both parties, the LPDC concluded that the two suits in question, AB/01/2020 and AB/383/2020, involved different claimants and subject matters, despite being related to the same property at No. 4, Itoko road, Ake, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
The committee noted that the claimants in suit AB/01/2020 were members of the Adebakin family, who owned land at the back of the property, while the claimants in suit AB/383/2020 were members of the Diyaolu family, who owned land on the front right side of the property. Although both families belonged to the larger Lufoku family, the suits were instituted in different capacities, as the Lufoku landed property had been shared among different branches.
The LPDC found no evidence to suggest that Soboyejo had committed any professional misconduct by filing the two suits. The committee emphasized that the mere fact that the first claimant in suit AB/383/2020 was listed as a witness in suit AB/01/2020 did not mean that the claimants in the two suits were the same.
In its direction, the LPDC stated that Adeyinka had failed to prove the existence of any breach of Rule 1 or any other provisions of the RPC by Soboyejo. The committee concluded that Soboyejo had upheld and observed the rule of law, promoted and fostered the course of justice, and maintained a high standard of professional conduct.
