The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) of the Body of Benchers has found Mr. Michael Olalekan Olawoyin, Esq., a Lagos-based lawyer, guilty of infamous conduct in professional respect and consequently suspended him from legal practice for five years. The Committee also directed him to refund the sum of ₦13,270,000 to his client, Mr. Emmanuel Oyedele Oyekunle, within 30 days.
The final direction, delivered on January 20, 2025, by Fidelis Mnyim, Esq., Acting Attorney-General of Benue State, on behalf of the Committee, followed a detailed hearing into case number BB/LPDC/461/2021, which alleged that Mr. Olawoyin fraudulently sold a property to the complainant and failed to deliver title documents or possession. The panel was chaired by Hon. Justice Dr. Ishaq Bello, OFR, with Hon. Justice O.O. Daniel-Kalio, PJCA, OFR; Hon. Justice Halima Ibrahim Abdulmalik, Chief Judge of Niger State; Dr. Ben Uruchi Odoh, Attorney-General of Ebonyi State; and Fidelis Mnyim, Esq., as members.
The case originated from a petition filed by Mr. Oyekunle on February 26, 2021, supported by a statement of facts, verifying affidavit, and several exhibits including a Contract of Sale, Power of Attorney, Receipts, Deed of Assignment, Survey Plan, Deed of Release, a petition to the police, and WhatsApp messages exchanged with the respondent. According to the complainant, he was introduced to Mr. Olawoyin—of Octagon Legal and Consultancy Services, Olawoyin Chambers, located at No. 10 Rasaki Bello Street, Ketu, Lagos—who offered him a portion of land for sale at No. 22 Bello Street, off Oluwalogbon Street, Ayedere Area, Ketu, Ikosi, Lagos. After negotiations, the lawyer presented documents including a Power of Attorney from one Mr. Mobolaji Oduwole and a Deed of Release from the Office of the Administrator General and Public Trustee, Lagos State Ministry of Justice, to prove his authority to sell the property.
Believing the representations, Mr. Oyekunle paid a total of ₦11 million for 226.22 square meters of land through the firm’s FCMB Account No. 4713817019. The payments were made between May 23 and June 1, 2020, and were receipted with Octagon Legal’s official receipts. However, despite full payment, the lawyer allegedly failed to hand over the property or title documents. The complainant later discovered that the same property had been sold to a third party for ₦30 million on December 23, 2020. The new buyer, upon being invited to Ketu Police Station, reportedly admitted that Mr. Olawoyin sold him the property and signed an undertaking to assist the police in apprehending the lawyer, who had allegedly relocated to Germany. Mr. Oyekunle told the Committee that he spent a total of ₦13.27 million on the transaction, including the purchase price, loan interest, survey fees, agency, and architectural costs.
The LPDC noted that Mr. Olawoyin failed to file any defence or appear before the Committee despite being duly served with hearing notices. After examining the exhibits and affidavit evidence, the Committee concluded that the lawyer had indeed received payment for the property, issued official receipts, and failed to deliver on his professional obligations. The Committee held that his actions amounted to infamous conduct in a professional respect, a serious violation under Rule 1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners, 2024, which mandates lawyers to maintain high professional standards and avoid conduct unbecoming of a legal practitioner. The panel referenced several judicial precedents, including NBA v. Mabawanku (2013) 15 NWLR (Pt. 1378) 603 and Iteogu v. LPDC (2009) 17 NWLR (Pt. 1171) 614, emphasizing that a lawyer’s conduct could be deemed infamous even where the aggrieved party is not a client.
In its final direction, the LPDC declared that the respondent, a Legal Practitioner working with Octagon Legal and Consultancy Services, lured the Applicant to pay ₦11,000,000 under the guise of a property sale but failed to deliver the property or refund the money. The Committee stated that his action fell short of the high standard expected of a legal practitioner. Accordingly, the Committee suspended Mr. Olawoyin for five years from the Roll of Legal Practitioners and directed him to refund ₦13,270,000 to Mr. Oyekunle within 30 days.
The Committee also ordered that the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court effect the suspension on the Roll and that the direction be published in the Federal Gazette and a national newspaper, specifically The Punch, to serve as public notice. The LPDC further directed that copies of the decision be sent to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the President of the Court of Appeal, the Chief Judges of the Federal High Court and High Courts of all States, the Grand Khadis and Presidents of Customary Courts of Appeal, the Attorney-General of the Federation, and all State Attorneys-General, as well as the Inspector-General of Police. The President of the Nigerian Bar Association was also directed to notify the General Council of the Bar, the NBA National Executive Committee, and other relevant organs of the Association.
