EXCLUSIVE: U.S. legal panel terminates Femi Gbajabiamila’s law licence after defrauding client, violating bar rules

EXCLUSIVE: U.S. legal panel terminates Femi Gbajabiamila’s law licence after defrauding client, violating bar rules

The former Nigerian House Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila’s license to practice law with the State Bar of Georgia in the United States has been revoked because of his excessive levels of corruption and ethical misconduct, according to the People’s Gazette.

Based on documents recently obtained by The Gazette, the Nigerian politician, who is currently the chief of staff to President Bola Tinubu, a man of uncountable scandals, was expelled from the esteemed organization with effect from July 1, 2020. He was discovered to have stolen money from a client and neglected to pay his membership dues.

The scandal surrounding Mr. Gbajabiamila in the United States highlights once more the difference between civilizations that use just and accessible tools to promote accountability compared to Nigeria, where openly fraudulent, despicable persons hold the most important positions of authority.

Mr. Gbajabiamila refused The Gazette’s demands for comments about his corruption and punishment in the United States for a number of weeks. After several weeks, a State House spokesman similarly neglected to submit the promised comments.

According to Georgia Bar officials who spoke to The Gazette, Mr. Gbajabiamila’s most recent struggle started when a client lodged a complaint against him for stealing. After that, Mr. Gbajabiamila ignored the bar and stopped adhering to his membership requirements, including paying his dues. The Gazette was informed that Mr. Gbajabiamila disregarded all attempts to contact him at his Peachtree Road address in Atlanta.

Mr. Gbajabiamila was suspended for five years on July 2, 2015, according to The Gazette. On July 1, 2020, the suspension was formally approved as a termination of his membership. At the time of his transgressions in the United States, Mr. Gbajabiamila, who was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia on June 29, 2001, served as Speaker of the House of Representatives.

“He can no longer practice law in the state of Georgia,” an official told The Gazette. “He’s done.”

After Mr. Gbajabiamila acknowledged to stealing $25,000 from a client, the Supreme Court of Georgia unanimously decided on February 26, 2007, to suspend him for 36 months. After serving out his punishment, he was reinstated, but then committing another infringement, got him fired permanently.

Mr Gbajabiamila, “who has only been a member of the bar since 2001, admits that he accepted payment of $25,000 as settlement of a client’s personal injury claims, deposited those funds in his attorney trust account in January 2003, failed to promptly disburse those funds to his client, withdrew those funds for his own use, closed his practice and moved out of the country,” the court said at the time.

In 2006, a year before the judgment, Mr Gbajabiamila, who had been a federal legislator for almost four years before the judgment, paid the money back, in order to receive a lesser sentence, including disbarment.

Mr Gbajabamila has been found guilty of multiple corruption offenses in the United States, which occurred from the early 2000s to 2020, yet his actions in Nigeria have gone unreported. In 2021, he was implicated in the bribery of prominent Nigerian legislators and government officials in order to influence the passage of the controversial 2021 law that regulates the hydrocarbon industry in Nigeria.

In recent times, Mr Gbajabamila has been confronted with accusations from within his party that he has accepted bribes in exchange for the sale of key government posts. In a video produced by the ruling All Progressive Congress’ youth wing, Tinubu was accused of engaging in widespread corruption that could have a serious impact on his administration. While Tinubu has yet to respond to the accusations, some of his followers have accused the youth wing of the party of being saboteurs behind the campaign.

Mr. Gbajabiamila may not need to work as a lawyer again after spending the last 20 years serving as a federal lawmaker, House Speaker, and now President Tinubu’s chief of staff, according to political commentator Ken Eluma Asogwa. Having Nyesom Wike, a notoriously violent politician who has already drawn criticism from international observers, and Atiku Bagudu, a former governor of Kebbi who is renowned for laundering billions for late Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha, on Mr. Tinubu’s team, he too has little to be embarrassed about.

“Looking at the characters he’s serving with, he has many reasons to brush this off,” An attorney based in Abuja named Mr. Asogma said. “His inglorious days in the United States might be catching up with him, but you can expect him to continue to thrive in Nigeria, where no one in power pays for willful infractions.”