The President of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Afam Osigwe, has advised the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, to desist from accusing lawyers wrongly.
The NBA President said it was wrong for Olukoyede to accuse lawyers of aiding money laundering and corruption of the political class.
The EFCC Chairman, at the opening of the 6th Annual Criminal Law Review Conference in Abuja, Monday, claimed 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 Guardian quoted Olukoyede.
He also accused senior lawyers of charging “obscene legal fees” without adhering to financial regulations.
In his reaction to the allegation, Osigwe asked Olukoyede to provide evidence to back up the allegation or withhold further accusations against lawyers.
Speaking after NBA unveiled the logo and theme of its 2025 Annual General Conference slated 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 that make the investigation and prosecution of cases by the EFCC worthwhile are lawyers. Is he then suggesting that his lawyers also aid 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.“
