Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practises and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), urged members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and legal professionals to cooperate with law enforcement in order to prevent the financing of terrorism and money laundering.
He made this call, according to a statement issued on Tuesday by Mrs. Azuka Ogugua, the spokeswoman for the ICPC, at the NBA’s Annual General Conference, which took place at the Velodrome of the National Stadium in Abuja.
Prof. Owasanoye praised NBA President Yakubu Maikyau and his leadership for taking the effort to bring up relevant topics during a panel debate on the ethics and professional conduct of attorneys.
The discussion centred on the new NBA rules and regulations for anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing while highlighting the legal community’s contribution to the war against vices.
The head of the ICPC claimed that due to what he viewed as a lack of cooperation between lawyers and anti-corruption organisations, discussions about the ethical behaviour of lawyers had to be brought up.
He noted that lawyers must disclose suspicious activity that may be related to money laundering and other offences, citing Rule 74(3) of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners (RPC).
If you notice something, report it, he said.
He continued by saying that it was no longer acceptable for solicitors to dismiss the source of their clients’ income and, consequently, their legal fees.
Further, he stated that lawyers must always put the public interest ahead of their own interests and treat public authorities and politically exposed individuals with care.
Additionally, he made reference to RPC Rule 60, which gave solicitors the authority to freeze the assets of anyone on the UN watch list.
He asserts that a watchlist akin to this one exists in Nigeria, and it is still the responsibility of solicitors to report their clients to the NBA anti-corruption unit, which is required to pass this information to law enforcement agencies.
Owasanoye pleaded with the NBA leadership to use the internal risk assessment policy as a set of guidelines to create its own rules in deciding what is ethical and what is not. He emphasised that any anti-corruption or anti-laundering committee must avoid the pitfalls of bureaucracy to avoid complicity when a law enforcement agency takes action against a client.
In his final submission, he counselled NBA members to forego protecting suspect clients in favour of using their disciplinary committee to collaborate with law enforcement to seek redress.
It’s time to put workable plans in place so that we can walk the talk, he said.
