The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) of Nigeria has urged legal practitioners to collaborate with law enforcement agencies to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.
The Chairman of ICPC Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, SAN, made the call at the Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) held at the Velodrome of the National Stadium in Abuja.
Work with Law Enforcement Agencies to Curb Corrupt Practices – ICPC Boss Advises NBA, Lawyers
The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, SAN, OFR, has called on legal practitioners and members of the… pic.twitter.com/dNQU4SR0gV
— ICPC Nigeria (@icpcnigeria) August 29, 2023
Professor Owasanoye, during the panel discussion on ethics and professional conduct of lawyers, commended the NBA leadership for the initiative shown in discussing pertinent matters.
According to the ICPC boss, it was inevitable that discussions on the ethical conduct of legal practitioners be brought to the table due to the perceived lack of cooperation between legal practitioners and anti-corruption agencies.
While quoting Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners Owasanoye stated that lawyers needed to report suspicious activities bordering on money laundering and related offences.
He said: “If you see something, say something.”
He added that it was no longer okay for legal practitioners to turn a blind eye, to the source of their client’s wealth and by extension their legal fees.
The ICPC boss noted that lawyers must show care and concern when dealing with public officials and politically exposed persons, maintaining that public interest must come first at all times and must supersede personal gain.
Prof. Owasanoye implored the NBA leadership to use the internal risk assessment policy as a set of guidelines, to make its own rules in determining what is ethical and what is not, stressing that any anti-corruption or anti-laundering committee must side-step the pitfall of bureaucracy to avoid complicity when a law enforcement agency moves against a client.
He advised members of the NBA to avoid shielding suspicious clients but rather use their disciplinary committee to work with law enforcement agencies in the pursuit of justice.
The session focused on the new NBA rules and guidelines on Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing, as well as underlining the role of the legal profession in the fight against the vices.
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