An Abuja-based lawyer, Everestus Chinedum Ugwuowo, has been suspended from legal practice for five years by the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) for professional misconduct involving a N29 million property scam.
The decision, which was delivered on June 20, 2025, follows a petition of “Infamous Conduct” filed against him by Grace Dauda.
The LPDC panel, led by a former Chief Judge of the FCT High Court, Justice Ishaq Bello, found Ugwuowo guilty of collecting N29 million from Ms. Dauda in 2017 for the sale of a four-bedroom property in Gwarinpa Estate, Abuja.
The panel said crucially, Ugwuowo did not have the authority of the property owner to sell the house and he failed to refund the money to Ms. Dauda despite repeated demands.
According to the LPDC’s findings, Ms. Dauda, relying on Ugwuowo’s status as a legal practitioner with over 15 years of experience and a Notary Public, paid him N29 million on September 14, 2017, for the duplex, while Ugwuowo acknowledged receipt of the funds on his firm’s letterhead.
However, after receiving the money, Ugwuowo became evasive. Meanwhile, the true owner of the property, Ciroma Muhammed Umar, later confirmed to the LPDC that he had never authorised Ugwuowo or anyone else to sell his property in Gwarinpa Estate.
The report also detailed that Ugwuowo admitted to receiving the N29 million for the purpose of purchasing the house for Ms. Dauda, but did not complete the purchase nor refunded the funds.
Furthermore, a cheque for N29 million issued by Ugwuowo to Ms. Dauda from United Bank for Africa (UBA) was dishonoured, proving to be a dud.
The LPDC concluded that Ugwuowo’s actions violated Rule 1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners, 2023, and are punishable under Section 12(1) of the Legal Practitioners Act.