The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) of the Body of Benchers has ordered the suspension of Lagos-based lawyer, Prince Onwenieke Williams-Joel, for two years after finding him guilty of infamous conduct in a professional respect.
The decision followed allegations of professional misconduct and financial impropriety linked to his handling of a ₦22.5 million land transaction.
Delivering its ruling in case number BB/LPDC/390/2020, the Committee chaired by Hon. Justice (Dr.) Ishaq Bello (OFR, Rtd) held that Williams-Joel violated multiple provisions of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners (RPC) 2007, particularly those concerning honesty, diligence, confidentiality, and accountability in managing client funds.
The case originated from a petition filed by Mr. Uche C. Joseph Njoku, a Hong Kong-based real estate investor, who accused Williams-Joel of mismanaging ₦22.5 million earmarked for the survey and acquisition of lands in Akodo and Epe, Lagos State.
Njoku alleged that the lawyer collected the funds in two instalments—₦12 million and ₦10.5 million—but failed to deliver the survey plans, presented a forged survey record, and refused to render proper accounts despite repeated demands. He further claimed that between March and September 2017, he entrusted over ₦150 million to the lawyer for multiple real estate projects but received neither adequate accounting nor satisfactory progress updates.
Njoku also accused Williams-Joel of breaching client confidentiality by petitioning the police and EFCC without consent, and of running a real estate firm, Diaspora Lakeview Estate, in violation of Rule 7(3) of the RPC, which prohibits lawyers from engaging in incompatible business ventures.
The proceedings began formally on December 29, 2020, involving extensive filings, affidavits, and oral testimonies. Both parties testified and were cross-examined, while their counsel—Emmanuel Oni, Esq. for the Applicant and Abdulazeez Bello Pyawu, Esq. for the Respondent—filed and adopted final written addresses.
The LPDC found that Williams-Joel acted as both lawyer and agent to his client, mixing legal practice with real estate dealings in breach of Rule 7(2)(a) and (b) of the RPC. It ruled that he abused client trust by failing to account for funds received, inflating project costs, presenting questionable documents, and engaging in real estate marketing contrary to professional ethics.
The Committee held that his actions amounted to professional misconduct and infamous conduct in a professional respect, thereby bringing the legal profession into disrepute. It reaffirmed the precedent in NBA v. Jude Akosa, emphasizing that the legal profession “is reserved for noble men and women who must act with dignity and candour, not for market traders or roadside marketers.”
Although the Committee acknowledged that Njoku had recovered ₦5.5 million through the EFCC and received some survey documents as partial restitution, it ruled that such recoveries did not absolve the Respondent of his ethical violations.
Consequently, the LPDC ordered that Prince Onwenieke Williams-Joel be suspended from legal practice for two years and refund ₦4.5 million to the Applicant, representing the unrecovered balance from the land transactions.
The Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court was directed to notify all relevant professional and regulatory bodies of the suspension in accordance with the Legal Practitioners Act.
