The Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, on Monday, threatened to drag the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, to court over his allegation that lawyers not only enable corrupt practices to thrive in the country, but also aid illicit financial flows into offshore accounts.
The EFCC boss had in a speech he delivered at the opening of the 6th Annual Criminal Law Review Conference in Abuja, insisted that no mega financial fraud could be perfected without the input of lawyers.
“The most traumatic discovery of the EFCC in recent years was the subjugation of national interest and well-being to personal interest by lawyers who aided briefcase foreign investors to fleece the nation in dubious transactions.
“The P&ID scam, the Mambilla Power Project and Sunrise issues are cases in point,” the EFCC Chairman stated, even as he called for an action to stop what he described as “obscene legal fees” that senior lawyers receive from political office holders without recourse to financial regulations.
Meanwhile, reacting to the allegation, the NBA, through its President, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, berated the EFCC Chairman for portraying members of the legal profession in a bad light.
Osigwe, SAN, who spoke shortly after the legal body unveiled the logo and theme of its 2025 Annual General Conference billed to hold in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, maintained that the EFCC boss lacked the evidence to support his allegation.
He said: “We challenge the EFCC Chairman to come up with empirical evidence and if he can not, he should never make such statement again.
“Unfortunately, he is one of us. He is a lawyer. We had earlier drawn his attention to the fact that many men and women that make the investigation and prosecution of cases by the EFCC worthwhile, are lawyers.
“Is he then suggesting that those his lawyers are aiding money laundering and financing of terrorism?
“It is common in Nigeria for people to make hasty generalizations, yet, very few lawyers, to my knowledge, have been prosecuted by the EFCC for aiding money laundering.
“If for example he has evidence of many lawyers who have aided money laundering and who are standing trial or who may have been convicted or who had pleaded guilty, then, one could say that he has evidence.
“It is unfortunate that such statement was made and I am sure that with the benefit of hindsight, he would not have made the statement.
“The point must be made that all of us must be committed to ensuring that we do not use our professional services to aid money laundering or terrorism financing, but no agency should utilize the public platform to suggest that members of the legal profession are the most guilty members of the public in aiding one crime or the other.
“In the absence of evidence, such statement should never be made. We are proud members of the legal profession and we must draw the line in performing our professional duties and aiding the commission of crime. We do not do that.
“There may be few bad eggs but that does not represent the picture or the majority of lawyers who toil to build up a reputation of integrity and professionalism.
“The EFCC Chairman should not for whatever reason soil that image by portraying all of us as aiders of money laundering.
“If that happens again, we will take legal action to protect the image of the legal profession,” the NBA President added.
Besides, Osigwe, SAN, urged anyone that has evidence against any lawyer to forward a petition to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, LPDC, saying the body has the capacity to weed out the bad eggs.
Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of the 2024 NBA AGC Planning Committee, Dr. Emeka Obegolu, SAN, said the theme of the conference is: “Stand Out, Stand Tall.”
“This theme is a call to action, a rallying cry for us as legal professionals to rise above mediocrity, to distinguish ourselves in our respective fields, and to uphold the tenets of justice with courage, resilience, and unwavering integrity.
“The phrase ‘Stand Out’ challenges us to embrace excellence and innovation in a world increasingly defined by complexity and change.
“As lawyers, it is our duty to lead with clarity, creativity, and a deep commitment to justice. Whether in the courtroom, the boardroom, or our communities, we must be the standard-bearers of professionalism and competence.
“Stand Tall inspires us to hold firm in the face of adversity, to remain steadfast in our values, and to be unapologetically bold in advocating for what is right.
“In an era where ethical compromise often seems the path of least resistance, standing tall means being the voice of integrity, equity, and fairness in all that we do,” Obegolu, SAN, added.
The NBA equally used the event to flag-off its 16-day activism against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, SGBV, saying its team would visit prisons and various detention facilities across the country to secure the release of some inmates and detainees.
