The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) on Monday threatened to sue the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Ola Olukoyede to court over his claim that lawyers aid illicit financial flows into offshore accounts.
Olukoyede made the statement during a speech at the sixth annual Criminal Law Review Conference in Abuja.
In reaction, NBA president Afam Osigwe berated him for portraying members of the legal profession in a bad light.
Osigwe stated this after the legal body unveiled the logo and theme of its 2025 annual general conference billed to hold in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
He said: “We challenge the EFCC chairman to come up with empirical evidence and if he cannot, 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 who make the investigation and prosecution of cases by the EFCC worthwhile are lawyers.
“Is he then suggesting that his lawyers are aiding money laundering and financing of terrorism?
“It is common in Nigeria for people to make hasty generalisations, 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 utilise 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.”
Osigwe urged anyone who has evidence against any lawyer to forward a petition to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC).
