PRESS RELEASE!
ABUJA, NIGERIA –
September 29, 2025 – I.K. Thany & Co. has
announced the filing of a comprehensive 12-ground Notice of Appeal at the
Supreme Court of Nigeria challenging the two-year suspension imposed on the
firm's Principal Partner, Idris K. Thany, Esq., by the Legal Practitioners’
Disciplinary Committee (LPDC).
The filing of the appeal automatically activates a stay of execution, ensuring Mr. Thany's right to practice remains legally intact until the Supreme Court delivers its final judgment. Section 12(8) of the LPA mandates that the filing of an appeal against an LPDC direction automatically operates as a stay of execution.
The appeal is a
fundamental challenge to the LPDC’s procedures, not merely a personal defense.
The Notice of Appeal asserts that the LPDC's findings were fatally flawed,
primarily due to a breach of the constitutional right to fair hearing.
The core of the
challenge, outlined in Grounds Two, Three, Four, and Five, argues that the LPDC
violated due process by relying on unsworn and untested allegations presented
solely in a final written address. It is a fundamental principle of Nigerian
law that a legal address cannot substitute for sworn testimony that has been
subjected to cross-examination.
The 12 grounds of
appeal, now before the Supreme Court, are itemized into four critical legal
categories:
- Fair Hearing/Due Process
(e.g., Unsworn Evidence, Afterthought Evidence).
- Jurisdictional Overreach
(e.g., Adjudicating matters that were sub judice—pending before the
Lagos High Court).
- Miscarriage of Justice on
Evidence (e.g., Perverse Finding, Decision Against Weight of Evidence).
- Misapplication of
Professional Rules (e.g., Ground Ten).
Protection of
Professional Integrity and the Legal Mandate
The Legal
Practitioners Act (LPA), specifically Section 12(8), mandates that the lodging
of this appeal automatically operates as a stay, protecting the practitioner
from professional harm while they exercise their inherent right to judicial
review.
A significant
aspect of the appeal is Ground Ten, which challenges the LPDC's finding of
"complicity" and professional misconduct against the junior colleague
and sibling of the Appellant, Khadija Abolanle Thany, Esq. This deliberate
inclusion seeks to exculpate his colleague completely, demonstrating that the
action is driven by a commitment to integrity and the protection of a promising
career, rather than mere self-vindication.
The Appellant has demonstrated confidence that the Supreme Court, as supported by precedents such as Gabriel Gbenoba v. LPDC & ANOR (2021) LPELR - 53064 (SC), will ultimately set aside the LPDC's Direction, thereby upholding the sanctity of due process.
Attached is a link to the Copy of the Notice of Appeal.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bWatMopOu1EFBQR63B56q0AmXTck6joI/view?usp=sharing
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