MONROVIA-The Liberian National Bar Association (LNBA) has prayed the honorable Supreme Court of the Republic of Liberia to uphold recommendations within its findings by revoking Austin Ndubuisi Nwabudike’s License.
Arguing its position during hearing before the high Court Wednesday, Cllr. Golda Bona Elliot appealed to that honorable court to disband the former LACC boss from the legal practice for fraud over his citizenship.
According to Cllr. Elliot, the proceeding before the Supreme Court is not to revoke Nwabudike’s citizenship, rather the proceeding is intended to remove him from the practice of law.
She believes when a citizenship of a person is shaded in doubts, the Supreme Court had the right to deny such person without mandate from the Attorney General as indicated in the Alien and Nationality law of Liberia.
Cllr. Elliot noted that the Attorney General had failed to exercise the power given him to revoke Nwabudike’s citizenship in keeping with the Alien and Nationality law as such, the High Court can therefore take seize of the matter.
During the hearing, the lawyer in her statement said she wonders if Nwabudike actually lost his documents during the war as he claimed, where than did he take those documents to have submitted to the Legislature.
“I believed the documents submitted to the Supreme Court were not the same submitted to the Senate. Had that been the case, the court could had noticed it and taken action” she said.
Cllr. Elliot furthered that the code of moral, professional and ethical conduct applied to the former LACC boss on grounds that he took an oath as such, if his fraud is uncovered, said person must account.
“What the bar did was to say you are not our member because we did not make you a lawyer and that is the matter before the civil law court.”
She also pleaded with the honorable court to review the dates of birth, documents and testimony by Nwabudike and come up with a determination.
Pushing his client’s case, Cllr. Jimmy Momoh contented that the code of conduct of the bar cannot be applied to only those who are lawyers, as such, whatever did happen prior to Nwabudike becoming lawyer, cannot take effect on him.
According to Cllr. Jimmy, it does not have the power to disband a lawyer who attained Liberian citizenship by alleged fraudulent means, rather the Attorney General of Liberia.
He indicated that if a person’s citizenship is revoked automatically, his License is revoked, therefore until Nwabudike citizenship is revoked by the Attorney General of the Republic, his License cannot be revoked nor can he be disbanded from the practice of law.
“The law conferred upon the Attorney General the power to setup guidelines to revoke citizenship of anyone who attained it by illegal means, therefore, unless the citizenship issue is addressed, the LNBA and Supreme Court cannot question Nwabudike membership of the bar” Cllr. Jimmy said before the high Court in Monrovia.
He claimed that the bar is also overlapping the function of the high Court on grounds that it is only the honorable court that can formulate the code of conduct for lawyers and it is only that court that can penalize lawyers if there is a bridge.
Nwabudike’s counsel furthered that the Supreme Court lacks jurisdiction over the matter to neither disband his client from the practice of law in Liberia.
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