A Nigerian tax payer, Philip Undie, has filed a suit before a Federal High Court in Abuja seeking to stop Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila from remaining in the House of Representatives over his alleged conviction in the US for fraud related offences.
In the originating summons filed by Undie, through an originating summons by his lawyer, Barr Ayodele Justice, he submits that Gbajabiamila is not a fit and proper person to be elected as a member of the House of Representatives or Speaker having been convicted of $25,000 fraud by the Supreme Court of the State of Georgia, USA.
Undie is contending that under Section 66(1) (C) and (D) of the 1999 Constitution and the verdict of the Supreme Court of Georgia, “the mood of our nation today will not warrant placing the position of the Speaker of the House of Representatives to the hands of any individual that has a tainted or questionable character.”
In the affidavit attached to the suit, Undie averred that Gbajabiamila, who was then known as ‘Femi Gbaja’ accepted payment of $25,000 client’s money as personal injury claims and deposited those funds in his attorney trust account in January 2003, which he failed to disburse to the client.
He stated that Gbajabiamila violated Rule 1-15(1) of Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct set forth in Bar Rule 4-102(d), which is punishable with disbarment and was suspended from Law practice in the USA for 36 months (three years) even though he refunded the client’s money in 2006 and “his lawyers filed a certification of compliance of the Supreme Court ruling as of March 2007.”
No date has been fixed for the hearing.
