Femi Gbajabiamila, majority
leader of the house of representatives, was reportedly charged to court and
found guilty of violating the rules of the bar of Georgia state in the US.
According to Sahara Reporters,
Gbajabiamila, a lawyer, admitted to withholding $25,000 his client received as
damages claims.
He was said to have been
prosecuted before the Supreme Court of Georgia in February 2007.
The lawmaker, who is contesting
for speaker of the house of representatives, has been recently accused of
fraud.
His campaign organisation,
however, denied the allegations on
Wednesday. Abdulmumin Jibrin, his campaign spokesman, said the lawmaker has
never been accused of corruption much less of being convicted anywhere in the
world.
But Sahara Reporters has uploaded
a copy of the judgement of the supreme court of Georgia, detailing
Gbajabiamila’s case.
The judgement read: “This
disciplinary matter is before the Court on the Respondent Femi Gbaja’s Petition
for Voluntary Discipline which was filed under Bar Rule 4-227 (b) (2) before a
formal complaint was issued. In his petition, Gbaja admits violating Rule 1 .l
5 ( l) of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct set forth in Bar Rule 4-102
(d). Although a violation of this rule is punishable by disbarment. Gbaja
requests the imposition of a 24-month suspension. He agrees, however, to
accepting a suspension of up to 36 months. The State Bar has no objection to
the acceptance of Gbaja’s petition so long as the suspension is no less than 36
months in duration.
“Gbaja, 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. Although Gbaja ultimately paid the $25,000 to his
client in 2006, he admits his conduct violated Rule HS (1) and that as a
result, he is subject to disbarment. In mitigation of his actions, Gbaja
asserts that he has cooperated fully with disciplinary authorities, repaid his
client, and is extremely remorseful for the consequences of his conduct. Under
these circumstances, we conclude that a 36-month suspension is an appropriate
sanction. Accordingly, Gbaja hereby is suspended for a period of 36 months. He
is reminded of his duties under Bar Rule 4-219(c).”
When Gbajabiamila’s
profile looked up on the website of the State Bar of Georgia, it was stated that he
is under “administrative suspension (licence fees)”.
It stated that this means a
“member who has not paid licence fees for a period of no less than one or
greater than five consecutive bar years; is not eligible to practice law in
Georgia, but eligible for reinstatement by specific steps mandated in bar
rules, but will not be required to take bar exam to reinstate.”
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com