Aloysius Ejimakor, a Nigerian lawyer in the United States, has been suspended from practising in the United States over making false claims about his official qualifications, a Department of Justice document reveals.

Mr Ejimakor faced disciplinary action before U.S. authorities for making false claims about his qualifications and was suspended from practising law in New York for nine months in 2004.

The Office of General Counsel for the Executive Office for Immigration Review instituted disciplinary proceedings against Mr Ejimakor in July 2003 on the ground that the Nigerian lawyer allegedly violated 8 C.F.R. 0 1003.102(f)(l), by making false statements about his qualifications.

Mr Ejimakor also filed many notices of appearance with the Executive Office for Immigration Review, in which he misrepresented his status as a member in good standing of the New York bar.

The document showed that Mr Ejimakor was required to file a timely response to the allegations. However, on October 27, 2003, his counsel filed a ‘Motion To Extend Time to Answer’.

In the motion, Mr Ejimakor’s counsel requested an extension until the end of January 2004 to file an answer to the ‘Notice of Intent to Discipline’ on the ground that the Nigerian lawyer was not in the U.S. at the time.

Though he was granted a 15-day extension window to respond to the allegations bordering on making false claims about his qualifications in an official capacity on November 25, 2003, Mr Ejimakor failed to respond to the allegations, ignoring a warning that his failure to file an answer within the stipulated time would constitute an admission of the allegations in the ‘Notice of Intent to Discipline’.

According to the DOJ, Mr Ejimakor’s failure to file an answer within the stipulated timeframe constituted an “admission” of the allegations.

The U.S. authorities’ latest publication showed that Mr Ejimakor has not been reinstated to practise in the U.S.

“After the suspension period expires, the respondent may petition this Board for reinstatement to practice before the Board, Immigration Courts, and DHS. See 8 C.F.Rtj 1003.107(a). In order to be reinstated, the respondent must demonstrate that he meets the definition of an attorney or representative, as set forth in 8 C.F.R. 6 1001.1 (f) and (j). Id.

“Therefore, the respondent must show that he has been reinstated to practice law in New York before he may be reinstated by the Board. See 8 C.F.R. tj lOOl.l(Q (stating that term “attorney” does not include any individual under order suspending him from the practice of law),” said the DOJ document.