Disciplinary committee throws out petition challenging Kalu’s NYSC participation

The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) has dismissed a complaint filed against the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, ruling that no prima facie case had been established against him.

The LPDC held that the allegations—relating to his participation in the National Youth Service Corps, attendance at the Nigerian Law School, and enrolment at the Supreme Court of Nigeria—fall entirely outside its jurisdiction. The committee therefore dismissed the complaint, describing it as fundamentally flawed both procedurally and substantively.

According to the panel, the Statement of Facts accompanying the complaint was wrongly addressed to the Chairman of the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee instead of the Chairman of the LPDC, contrary to the requirement under Rule 4 of the LPDC Rules, 2020. While the panel elected to overlook this procedural defect, it held that the complaint still failed on its merits.

The LPDC emphasised that it is established solely to regulate the professional conduct of enrolled legal practitioners in the discharge of their duties to the public, as provided under Section 10 of the Legal Practitioners Act of Nigeria.

The complaint had been filed by John Martins, who alleged that Kalu—formerly known as Benjamin Okezie Osisiogu before a legal name change—had simultaneously participated in the NYSC scheme while attending the Nigerian Law School, an action he claimed violated the National Youth Service Corps Act of Nigeria.