Doctor Urges Court To Set Aside Order Allowing Lagos AG’s Former Firm To Represent Alleged Land Grabbers

Lawal Pedro (SAN) is the Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice.

The plaintiff is praying the court to order the law firm “to withdraw its representation for the first defendant (the company) in the suit on the ground of conflict of interest.”

He is also praying the court to set “aside the order for a change of counsel of the first defendant to the law firm of Lawal Pedro (SAN) & Associates, granted on the 18th of February 2025.”

Mr. Tunji Solaja and Peter Omotosho, an engineer, are the other defendants/respondents.

Justice Akinkunmi Idowu had granted “an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the defendants/respondents from trespassing, harassing, or entering the land or carrying out any activities whatsoever on the land, lying and situated at Plot 1, Block 4, Lekki Peninsula, Scheme 1, Admiralty Road, Eti Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State, measuring 1,147.124 square metres, vide Deed of Assignment registered as No. 69, page 69, in Volume 2741 of the Land Registry, Ikeja, Lagos State, pending the hearing and determination of the suit.”

The court restrained the defendants/respondents “from using force, thugs, the police, and other agencies of the government to harass, intimidate, or break into the claimant’s property” at Lekki Peninsula.

In the Motion on Notice, the claimant stated that the “office of the Attorney-General had earlier issued DPP (Directorate of Public Prosecution) advice against the party his private law firm, Lawal Pedro (SAN) & Associates, seeks to represent.”

The claimant also claimed that the first defendant allegedly suppressed facts before the court, stating that the Attorney-General is “the principal partner/founder of Lawal Pedro (SAN) & Associates, who has issued a DPP’s advice criminally indicting the company and some individuals, recommending them for prosecution.”

He questioned the legitimacy of the chambers allegedly owned by the Attorney-General to stand in defense of those whom he and his office have indicted for criminal offenses and recommended for prosecution.

The claimant contends that “the law firm of Lawal Pedro (SAN) & Associates cannot be engaged to represent the first defendant in the suit, as the Attorney-General of Lagos State, Mr. Pedro Lawal, SAN, has been personally involved in protecting the interests of the claimant.”

He added: “Not only was the order granting a change of counsel on 17th February 2025 granted in error due to the suppression of facts by the first defendant/applicant, but the order will also amount to a conflict of interest. Since this court is a temple of justice that upholds the principles of equity, such an order should be set aside.”

However, Pedro said he has since resigned from the firm.

When contacted, he told The Nation: “I don’t know what this is about. Perhaps one of the counsel in the chambers (which I have since resigned from after my appointment) is defending one of the parties in his own right as counsel.

“Assuming the DPP under the AG’s office issued legal advice in a criminal matter and the case in court, as I understand it, is a civil matter, where does the conflict of interest lie when the AG or Lawal Pedro (SAN) is not appearing in the case as counsel?

“I believe the doctor and his counsel are lazy, mischievous, and don’t have a good case or are afraid of the other counsel. Hence, the objection is a distraction so they can hang the case in the Court of Appeal.

“It is settled law that Lawal Pedro & Associates is not a legal practitioner enrolled in the Supreme Court.

“It is individual counsel that has the right to practice law in our courts, not associates.

“I wonder why a claimant’s counsel would want to frustrate his own case if he truly has a good case.

“I wish him the best of luck in his objection before the court.”