Though the body said it is willing to fight terrorism and money laundering, it contended that such effort should not compromise the independence of the Bar. Speaking at their just concluded 53rd Annual General Conference, which held in Calabar, Cross River State, NBA President, Oke Wali (SAN), said the association went to court because, while it does not support money laundering, lawyers would not be blackmailed into submitting to external control. He insisted: “We will not succumb to being regulated from the outside.”
By the policy, every lawyer is expected to report transactions above $1, 000 to the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML) at the EFCC, in line with the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 and Terrorism Prevention Act, 2011. Section 5 of the Anti-Money Laundering Law states that if a lawyer defaults in reporting his or her financial transactions, the CBN governor is mandated to withdraw his or her license.
“The law is saying what we as lawyers cannot accept,” Wali added. “I cannot understand how the CBN governor will withdraw my license from outside the Bar. It is even also in conflict with our laws on solicitor-client relationship.”
Also contributing, the NBA Chairman, Lagos branch, Alex Muoka, argued that banks were already mandated to report certain transactions beyond particular amounts to security agencies and therefore asking lawyers to make such reports all over again amounts to duplication of duties. To him, the CBN should rather monitor more closely banks’ reporting of all transactions that go through them.
The association suggested that a way to check the incidence of crime among lawyers is the introduction of the stamp and seal project, with which all legitimate lawyers in the country could be identified.
For the Chairman of NBA Stamp and Seal Committee, Hassan Liman (SAN), the situation has become so bad that some processes filed in court are signed by fake lawyers, particularly those who did not pass through the Nigerian Law School. However, a majority of the lawyers have rejected the announcement that the stamp would be renewed annually at a cost. A “no” chorus reverberated in the hall when the proposal was made, as most lawyers rejected the idea of buying stamps every year.
The NBA held that it is an aberration for an external body to seek to regulate the professional conduct of its members in so far as money laundering and terrorism financing laws are concerned. Nevertheless, it assured the public of its capability, competence and willingness to self-regulate in accordance with the provisions of the Legal Practitioners Act. It added that the stamp and seal policy of the NBA needed to be urgently and effectively implemented to protect the legal profession from infiltration by quacks and imposters.
culled from
http://ngrguardiannews.com/national-news/131723-nba-rejects-external-financial-control-by-cbn-efcc
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