The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) has suspended Abuja-based lawyer Everestus Chinedum Ugwuowo from practicing law for five years following his involvement in a N29 million property fraud case.
The suspension, announced on June 20, 2025, came after Ugwuowo was found guilty of professional misconduct in a petition filed by Mrs. Grace Dauda, who accused him of defrauding her in a property transaction.
According to the LPDC's findings, Ugwuowo collected N29 million from Dauda in September 2017 for the purchase of a four-bedroom duplex located at House No. 11, 662 Road, Gwarinpa Estate, Abuja. However, investigations revealed that Ugwuowo had no authority from the actual property owner to sell the house.
The five-member panel, led by Justice Ishaq Bello, former Chief Judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), determined that Ugwuowo's actions violated the rules governing legal practice in Nigeria.
"We are satisfied that the proper Order to make in the circumstances is to DIRECT as follows: That the Respondent, EVERESTUS CHINEDU UGWUOWO, ESQ. be and is hereby suspended from the Roll of Legal Practitioners and from engaging in the business of practicing law for a period of FIVE YEARS from the date of this DIRECTION," the committee stated in its ruling.
The committee also ordered Ugwuowo to refund the full N29 million to Dauda within 30 days of the ruling.
During the investigation, the actual property owner, Ciroma Muhammed Umar, testified that he never authorized Ugwuowo or anyone else to sell his property in Gwarinpa Estate. Despite this, Ugwuowo, who presented himself as a legal practitioner with over 15 years of experience and a Notary Public, convinced Dauda to pay the full amount for the property.
The LPDC noted that Ugwuowo had attempted to refund the money by issuing a United Bank for Africa (UBA) cheque for N29 million, but it bounced. Eight years after the initial transaction, Dauda has neither received the property nor a refund of her money.
The committee has directed that the ruling be communicated to various judicial and law enforcement authorities, including the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, the Attorney-General of the Federation, and the Inspector-General of Police.
This case highlights the importance of due diligence in property transactions and the serious consequences for legal practitioners who abuse their position of trust.
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