The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) has suspended Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Joe-Kyari Gadzama, from practising law for three years.
The committee found Gadzama guilty of professional misconduct in connection with the legal case involving victims of the 2001 Zaki Biam killings in Benue State.
The decision was delivered on Wednesday after the LPDC considered a petition marked BB/LPDC/1314/2024, which was filed by lawyer Chris Alash.
The committee also suspended lawyer Ocha Ulegede from practising law for two years over the same matter.
According to the LPDC, both lawyers violated provisions of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners, 2023.
The committee directed that all heads of superior courts of record across Nigeria should be informed of its decision.
It also said the suspensions took effect immediately from the date of the judgment.
The case is connected to the October 2001 killings in Zaki Biam, Benue State, when soldiers entered several communities after the bodies of 19 soldiers were discovered in the area.
During the operation, more than 200 villagers were killed, while many houses and properties were destroyed.
Following the incident, victims and survivors sued the Federal Government at the Federal High Court in Enugu, seeking compensation for the loss of lives, destruction of property and the violation of their fundamental rights.
In July 2007, the court awarded the plaintiffs ₦41.8 billion in compensation.
The Federal Government later appealed the judgment before both parties began negotiations to settle the matter out of court.
The negotiations reportedly ended with an agreement to pay ₦8 billion.
The proposed payment later became controversial after reports claimed the money would be paid through the Benue State Government under former Governor Gabriel Suswam.
In February 2015, senior lawyers Itsay Sagay and Mike Ozekhome warned the Federal Government against paying the compensation through the state government.
The disciplinary case arose from allegations that Gadzama improperly took over another lawyer’s brief, solicited clients who were already represented by the complainant and wrongly collected professional fees linked to the Zaki Biam compensation case.
The LPDC found that Gadzama improperly solicited, or “poached,” clients who were being represented by lawyer Chris Alashi.
However, Gadzama denied the allegations, insisting that the judgment creditors hired him directly through written letters of instruction.
He also maintained that the evidence presented before the disciplinary committee did not support its findings.
The senior lawyer said he has instructed his legal team to appeal the decision.
He added that he remains confident the ruling will be challenged through the legal process and maintained that filing the appeal allows him to continue practising law until the case is finally decided, as provided under the Legal Practitioners Act.
