From Victor Osula, Abuja
The suspended senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has filed a petition to disbar and remove the name of Senator Nedamwem Imasuen, as lawyer.
The Imasuen, the Edo South Senator, chaired the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petition, which found Natasha guilty of misconduct and violation of Senate rules on 20th February.
He had also declared as “dead on arrival”, Natasha’ petition submitted to the committee, which alleged sexual harassment by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Natasha, in a petition filed before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC), alleged that the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, had on May 10, 2010, indicted and disbarred Senator Imasuen “for fraud, misappropriation of client’s funds and failure to respond to disciplinary authorities”.
Supporting her allegation with a copy of the Justia New York Case Law 2010, with the title “Matter of Imasuen”, Natasha highlighted that Imasuen was disbarred by the US court following complaint by Daphne Slyfield, a client who paid substantial legal fees to him but was abandoned without legal recourse.
According to Natasha, “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.”
Noting that her petition arose from a sequence of events that call into question the integrity and ethical standing of Senator Imasuen, the suspended Senator assured to “lead further evidence from official records of the respondent’s disbarment at the trial of this case”.
