The suspended Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has filed a petition to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC), seeking the disbarment of Edo South Senator, Nedamwem Imasuen, as a Lawyer.
Imaseun is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petition, which recommended multiple punitive measures against Natasha over her misconduct during a Senate plenary.
In her petition submitted to the LPDC, Natasha claimed that the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, on May 10, 2010, accused and disbarred the chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee for “fraud, misappropriation of client funds, and failure to respond to disciplinary authorities.”
To support her claim, the petitioner submitted a copy of the 2010 Justia New York Case Law titled ‘Matter of Imasuen’ to the LPDC and promised to present additional evidence from the official records of the respondent’s disbarment during the trial.
Senator Natasha told the LPDC that the respondent’s disbarment by the US Court followed a complaint that was lodged against him by one Daphne Slyfield, a client who paid substantial legal fees to him but was abandoned without legal recourse.
“The court found that the respondent had violated multiple professional rules, resulting in the permanent revocation of his legal licence in the US.
“That following the respondent’s disbarment, he relocated to Nigeria, continued to present himself as a legal practitioner and pursued a career in politics, eventually securing a seat in the National Assembly as the Senator representing Edo South Senatorial District.
“Despite this disbarment, which was hinged on unethical conduct, the respondent failed to disclose this sanction, both in the legal profession and political space, as a senator, and was eventually made the chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, a position requiring unimpeachable integrity.
“That the Respondent did not remotely disclose his disbarment either in his Form EC9 – particulars of personal information submitted to INEC on oath at the time of aspiring for public office,” the petition read.
Senator Natasha stated that her petition to the LPDC stemmed from a series of events that raised questions about the respondent’s integrity and ethical standards.
She accused Senator Imasuen of publicly disregarding an interim order issued by the Federal High Court in Abuja on March 4, which prevented his committee from continuing with disciplinary actions against her. She added that the respondent, who had been properly notified of the interim order, also showed contempt for the court by recommending a six-month suspension on her, which was eventually approved by the Senate in plenary.
