Claim lawyers frustrating anti-graft war unfounded – NBA president

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Claim lawyers frustrating anti-graft war unfounded – NBA president

The President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Yakubu Maikyau (SAN) says the narrative that members of the legal profession constitute a stumbling block to the fight against corruption is false.

This was as he submitted that the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing was a legal fight that must be fought within the framework of extant legislation.

Maikyau spoke on Thursday in Abuja at the ongoing National AML/CFT/CPF Compliance Retreat organised by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit.

According to him, there is no record of complicity by the legal profession to warrant or justify such sweeping generalisation.

He said, “As a matter of fact, those who feed such narrative are the ones who either work against or ignore the right measures needed to be deployed or adopted to succeed in this fight.

“The NBA will not allow or in any way subscribe to any arrangement that will subject the legal profession to the regulatory control of third parties.”

While intimating the retreat of the passage of Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners, 2023, Maikyau noted that in recognition of the dangers of money laundering and terrorism financing on the integrity of the legal profession, the NBA had ensured that the Part 2 of the new Rules incorporate Guidelines and Rules on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism for Legal Practitioners.