According to Gistlover 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House Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila‘s license to practice law with the State Bar of Georgia in the United States has been revoked because of his excessive levels of corruption and ethical misconduct. .
The Nigerian politician, who is currently the chief of staff to President Bola Tinubu, who is a man of countless scandals, was expelled from the esteemed organization as of July 1, 2020. He was discovered to have stolen money from a client and neglected to pay his membership dues.
The U.S. scandal surrounding Mr.Gbajabiamila highlights once more the difference between civilisations that use just and accessible tools to promote accountability and Nigeria, where openly fraudulent, despicable figures are in charge of the most important positions of authority.
Mr. Gbajabiamila refused to respond to questions from newsman about his corruption and treatment in the U.S. for several weeks. In addition, despite promises made after several weeks, a State House spokesman did not submit any comments.
According to Georgia Bar representatives, Mr. Gbajabiamila’s most recent ordeal started when a client lodged a complaint against him for theft, according to The Gazette. After that, Mr. Gbajabiamila ignored the bar and stopped adhering to his membership obligations, including paying his dues. According to information provided to The Gazette, Mr. Gbajabiamila rebuffed all attempts to contact him at his Peachtree Road address in Atlanta.
According to GISTLOVER Mr. Gbajabiamila received a five-year suspension on July 2, 2015. On July 1, 2020, the suspension was formally authorized as a termination of his membership. At the time of his violations in the U.S., Mr. Gbajabiamila, who joined the Georgia State Bar on June 29, 2001, was serving as Speaker of the House of Representatives. S.
He is no longer permitted to practice law in the state of Georgia, a representative told The Gazette. “He’s finished.
After Mr. Gbajabiamila admitted to stealing $25,000 from a client, the Georgia Supreme Court unanimously decided to suspend him for 36 months. After serving out his suspension, he was reinstated, but after committing another infraction, he was finally fired.
The court noted at the time that Mr. Gbajabiamila, who had only joined the bar in 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.”.
In order to receive a lesser punishment, such as being disbarred, Mr. Gbajabiamila, who had been a federal lawmaker for almost four years prior to the verdict, paid the money back in 2006, a year before the verdict.
While Mr.Gbajabiamila has already paid a price for his well-documented transgressions in the U. S,
His corruption in Nigeria has gone unpunished over a period of time that lasted from the early aughts to 2020. In 2021, Mr Gbajabiamila was among top lawmakers and government ministers who received heavy bribes from private businessmen to undercut local communities in passing the controversial 2021 law regulating the Nigerian hydrocarbon industry.
Recent accusations that he accepted bribes to sell important government positions have come from within his own party. He was accused of unchecked corruption that could seriously damage Mr. Tinubu’s administration in a video made by the youth wing of the ruling All Progressives Congress. Some of his supporters have labeled those running the campaign as saboteurs, though he has yet to refute the accusations.
According to political commentator Ken Eluma Asogwa, Mr. Gbajabiamila may not need to work as a lawyer again after spending the last 20 years as a federal lawmaker, House Speaker, and now President Tinubu’s chief of staff.
“Looking at the characters he’s serving with, he has many reasons to brush this off,” Mr Asogma, an Abuja-based legal practitioner, 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.
He also has little to be ashamed of since he’s on Mr Tinubu’s team with Nyesom Wike, a notoriously violent politician already condemned by foreign observers, and Atiku Bagudu, a former Kebbi governor who’s infamous for laundering billions for departed Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha.
