General
How Real Estate Transaction Ruined Ugwuonye’s Legal Career

Destiny Ugorji
**As Supreme Court Bars Lawyer from Legal Practice in Nigeria
The Supreme Court in Abuja has finally struck out the name of controversial Lagos Lawyer, Emeka Ephraim Ugwuonye from her Roll.
In a letter dated 24th April, 2018, entitled: Re-BB/LPDC/217/16 Nigerian Bar Association V. Ephraim Emeka Ugwuonye; with reference number: 197/SCN/LIT/100118, addressed to Euphraim C. Ugwuonye, signed by Gertrude B. Bari-Nyana Esq (for the Chief Registrar) and made available to our Correspondent, the apex court conveyed the news.
The letter reads in part:
“This is to notify you of a notice issued by the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee to the effect that your name be struck off the Roll of Legal Practitioners, after you were tried and found guilty of infamous conduct in the course of the performance of your duty as a legal practitioner as set out in count 1, of the Complaint, contrary to Rules 23 and 55 of the Rules of Professional Conduct in the Legal Profession 2007 and punishable under Section 12-(1)-(a) of the Legal Practitioners Act as amended.
“The said notice is dated 22nd day of May, 2017 and in the absence of an appeal after the stipulated time within which to appeal has lapsed, the name UGWUNONYE EPHRAIM CHUKWUEMEKA is hereby STRUCK OFF the Roll of Legal Practitioners.
“UGWUNONYE EPHRAIM CHUKWUEMEKA is not entitled to practice as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
“Any letter issued to you before now, with regards to your enrolment status is null and void, with immediate effect.”
It would be recalled that in a matter of the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (Body of Benchers) holden at Abuja, between the Nigerian Bar Association (Complainant) and Ephraim Emeka Ugwuonye (Respondent), before: J.D. Dauda, SAN (Chairman), Hon. Justice M. Umukoro, CJ, Delta State, Hon. Justice P.D. Damulak, CJ, Plateau State, Yusuf Ali, SAN, E.C.Ukala, SAN, Tijjani Inuwa-Dutse and Hon. Ahmed Mustapha Goniri, AG, Yobe State, Mr. Ugwuonye was found guilty of infamous conduct. The body, in its ruling, ordered the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court to strike out Ugwuonye’s name from the Roll of legal practitioners in Nigeria.
According to records in a Certified True Copy of the Body of Benchers decision, “the complaint against Ephraim Emeka Ugwuonye Esqr (hereinafter referred to as the Respondent) Legal Practitioner of ECULAW and Co. 25 Adeyemo Alakija Street, 2nd Floor, Victoria Island Lagos, is an allegation of Breach of Trust to wit; failure to disclose personal interest in subject matter of Client’s brief. The Petitioner, one Ms. Victoria Ekweani alleged that she engaged the services of the Respondent to secure and protect her interest as next of kin in the estate of her late sister, one Ms. Ifeoma Ekweani.
“Petitioner however alleged that Respondent failed to execute his brief, but rather filed an application at the Enugu State Probate Registry for the issuance of Letters of Administration to the Respondent in his purported capacity as Fiancée and creditor to the deceased. Ms Ekweani’s Petition was investigated by the Nigerian Bar Association Disciplinary Panel ‘B’, Lagos, which considered all available materials…..”
In its ruling, the Body of Benchers found Ugwuonye guilty.
“We, that is, the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee hereby find the Respondent, Ephraim Emeka Ugwuonye guilty of infamous conduct in the course of the performance of his duty as a legal practitioner as set out in Count 1, of the Complaint (as already indicated in this Direction) contrary to Rules 23 and 55 of the Rules of Professional Conduct in the Legal Profession 2007 and punishable under Section 12- (1)- (a) of the Legal Practitioners Act, as amended.”
“We are satisfied that the appropriate order to make in the circumstance is to direct the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court to strike out the name of Ephraim Emeka Ugwuonye from the Roll of Legal Practitioners and we so Order. Our Order shall forthwith be brought to the attention of the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court. We further Order that Notice of this Direction be immediately brought to the attention of the Respondent by service on him personally or to his last known address and by publication in any Edition of The Punch Newspaper and also by publication in the Federal Gazzette as required by law.”
The latest letter issued to Mr. Ugwuonye by the Supreme Court puts to an end the controversy over his enrollment status in the Nigerian Bar. The enrolment number: SCN019368, belonging to Ephraim Emeka Ugwuonye is struck out of the Supreme Court Roll.
Meanwhile, investigations reveal that the family of the Petitioner, Ekweani, in Enugu State are mobilizing to approach relevant law enforcement agencies to commence criminal prosecution of Mr. Ugwuonye over breach of trust. If the prosecution succeeds, he may be facing a 7-year jail term.
General
Adelabu Calls for Calm After 100 Days of UCH Power Outage

By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of Power, Mr Bayo Adelabu, on Monday addressed students of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan who are staging a peaceful protest on the lingering power cut at the school.
Business Post reports that the outage has lasted over 100 days, with Monday making it 101 days since the hospital was disconnected from the grid in October 2024 by Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) over an outstanding debt of about N500 million.
The Student Union of the University of Ibadan in conjunction with the College of Medicine staged a peaceful protest to draw the attention of the Federal Government to the development but nothing has been done to the effect.
The protesters demanded an immediate reconnection of UCH and the implementation of a 50 per cent tariff reduction they claim the Minister promised the hospital.
Meanwhile, Mr Adelabu appealed to the students to allow for dialogue while proposing a truce between the IBEDC and UCH.
The students carried placards with different inscriptions such as +100 Days of Darkness: Save UCH; Save ABH Hall; Save Falade Hall; Give Us Light; This Is Not How We Want To Live; Medical School Is Hard Enough—Give Us Light; All We Are Saying, Give Us Light, among others.
The students had protested on January 26, 2025, to the State and Federal Secretariats, Agodi, Ibadan, with the hope that the management would fix the issue, but with the 100-day milestone, the new protest hopes there will be resolution
General
Regional Imbalance: CNPP Proposes Creation of Five States

By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The National Assembly has been advised to consider the creation of five additional states to address regional imbalance in the number of states in the country’s six geopolitical zones to ensure equity, fairness, and justice in the distribution of resources and opportunities among various regions.
Over the weekend, the nation was busy with proposal from some Nigerians on the creation of additional 31 states to bring the total to 67 states.
Reacting to this, the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) submitted that instead of creating almost double of what the country currently has, five fresh states should be created from four regions.
In a statement signed by its Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Mr James Ezema, the CNPP argued that, “Democracy does not support injustice. The basic principles of democracy derive from free, fair, justice, and equitable distribution of resources, and the rule of law.”
The group emphasized that addressing the imbalance in the number of states in each geopolitical zone was crucial for promoting unity, stability, and progress in Nigeria.
“The CNPP proposes that each of the six geopolitical zones should have seven states each, based on economic viability and other relevant factors for the new states to be created.
“Specifically, the North Central and North West zones already have seven states, while the rest of the zones have six states each, except the South East region with only five states.
“There is the need to create one additional state each for the South West, North East, and South-South zones and two additional states should be created in the South East zone.
“Once this is achieved, the National Assembly can consider creating additional states in each of the six geopolitical zones.
“The CNPP believes that this is a necessary step towards ensuring that every region in Nigeria has an equal opportunity to develop and contribute to the growth and prosperity of the nation.
“We urge the National Assembly to take this matter seriously and work towards creating a more just and equitable society for all Nigerians.
“The CNPP has consistently advocated for good governance, transparency, and accountability in Nigeria. The CNPP as the umbrella body of all registered political parties and political associations in Nigeria remains committed to promoting the principles of democracy and ensuring that the rights and interests of all Nigerians are protected and advanced,” it noted.
General
Nigeria, Bahrain to Strengthen Trade, Investment Ties

By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria and Bahrain are working to strengthen diplomatic ties, focusing on trade, investment, and oil and gas cooperation.
The two countries recently engaged in bilateral discussions aimed at facilitating foreign direct investment, enhancing trade and investment opportunities and equally fostering cooperation in the oil and gas sectors.
A statement on Sunday by the spokesman of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Alkasim AbdulKadir, said his boss, Mr Yusuf Tuggar, recently visited Manama in the Kingdom of Bahrain and engaged in bilateral discussions with his Bahraini counterpart, Mr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani.
It was revealed that the meeting focused on strengthening diplomatic relations, facilitating foreign direct investment from Bahrain, enhancing trade and investment opportunities, and fostering cooperation in the oil and gas sectors, with particular emphasis on onshore projects and the development of the 8th train LNG.
Train 8 is part of efforts for Nigeria to boost its Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) capacity but it hasn’t been able to do so because of low investments and insecurity with its energy infrastructure.
The Ministry also said the both parties also deliberated on the training of Nigerian diplomats and collaboration within multilateral forums.
He disclosed that both ministers signed a Joint Communiqué, officially establishing diplomatic relations between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Kingdom of Bahrain, noting that this agreement marks a significant milestone in fostering closer ties and mutual cooperation between the two nations.
He said this development aligns with Bahrain’s ongoing efforts to strengthen international partnerships, stating that recently, Mr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, chaired the third meeting of the national committee for monitoring the implementation of the outcomes of the Bahrain Summit Initiatives, underscoring the kingdom’s commitment to global collaboration.
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