Supreme Court Considers Jurisdiction on LPDC Appeals

On June 26, 2026, the Supreme Court of Nigeria addressed the case of a legal practitioner from Warri, who was arraigned before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) on charges of receiving ₦1,600,000 from Tosan Olukpe under false pretenses for land at Ajah-Etan Close, which he did not own. The LPDC found the practitioner guilty of professional misconduct, directing the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court to strike his name from the Roll of Legal Practitioners and ordered him to refund the amount to Olukpe through the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) within thirty days.

The practitioner claimed he had informed Olukpe that the land was family property still undergoing survey and that he made efforts to provide alternative land after the family reclaimed it. Dissatisfied with the LPDC's ruling, the practitioner appealed to the Supreme Court, which raised the question of whether an appeal can be made directly from the LPDC's direction to the Supreme Court.