The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual General Conference 2025 featured a highly engaging breakout session on “Dirty Money”, bringing together legal and financial experts to deliberate on the profession’s role in addressing financial crimes, illicit financial flows (IFFs), and compliance with global anti-money laundering (AML) standards.
The panel featured:
- Juliet Ibekaku-Nwagwu, Executive Director, African Center & Member, NBA Anti-Money Laundering Committee (AMLC)
- Prof. Ernest Ojukwu, SAN, Co-Chair, NBA AMLC
- Felix Obiamalu, General Counsel, Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU)
- Olabisi Makanjuola, former Chairman, NBA Lagos Branch
Key Issues Discussed
The panel explored pressing challenges, including:
- The role of lawyers and financial institutions in combating money laundering, terrorism financing, and other financial crimes.
- The implications of the 2023 Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC) for lawyers’ AML obligations.
- The impact of firm size on compliance, especially the obligations of small firms and sole practitioners, compared to larger practices.
- The tension between client confidentiality and the duty to detect and report illicit transactions.
Spotlight on the NBA-AML Portal
Juliet Ibekaku-Nwagwu highlights the importance of the NBA Anti-Money Laundering (NBA-AML) Portal, developed with support from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and in partnership with the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ). She emphasized why Nigerian lawyers should leverage the portal to file Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs), access training resources, and strengthen professional accountability.
Key Takeaways
The panelists clarified that AML compliance is not a burden but an advantage for the legal profession. They stressed that smaller firms and sole practitioners are equally capable of implementing effective compliance measures. By embracing tools such as the NBA-AML Portal and the NBA AMLC framework, lawyers can safeguard the integrity of the profession, enhance competitiveness, and contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s fight against illicit financial flows. The African Center reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the NBA and wider stakeholders in building stronger compliance frameworks and ensuring that the legal profession remains a frontline actor in the global fight against financial crime.
