Distinguished Colleagues,
I want to use this opportunity to thank each of you for coming. I am deeply grateful when familiar faces appear as recurring participants in our activities. It speaks to the dedication and commitment of these individuals to the Nigerian Bar Association.
I have never asked any of them to undertake a task for the bar without receiving an immediate and positive response. Their unwavering commitment and willingness to serve have always been evident, and for this, I am profoundly grateful.
I also want to extend my gratitude to those who accepted this call to serve without me even needing to ask directly. Your dedication and proactive involvement are invaluable to our association and the legal profession.
This particular committee is essential for many reasons, but chiefly because we’ve been in the trenches fighting for our independence as members of the legal profession, particularly those at the bar.
We deal with confidentiality issues and ensure that third parties do not dictate our professional conduct. To this end, we boldly integrated the anti-money laundering guidelines into our rules of professional conduct.
We have demonstrated sufficient good faith by doing this, and the international community recognises the distinct steps the Nigerian Bar Association has taken in this regard.
During a recent bar leaders meeting in London, colleagues from the Commonwealth approached me to learn how we accomplished this, as they were still struggling with it. I was glad to share our rules of professional conduct with them, and I know many are now working on similar initiatives.
The reward for good work is more work : YC MAIKYAU
All of you witnessed the workshop we had a couple of weeks ago, which was well-received. Our colleagues are eager to learn more about this subject because the reality has come to us. We must take responsibility, and as I always say, the fight against corruption is the lawyers’ fight. We don’t need external guidance; we are the ones who provide these guidelines.
Rule 73 of the Rules of Professional Conduct under Part 2 prescribes the establishment of the NBA Anti-Money Laundering Committee. This committee is responsible for facilitating interactions between law enforcement agencies and members of the Nigerian Bar Association. It is a crucial committee that further demonstrates our responsibility to regulate ourselves.
The guidelines also require that committee members have the necessary expertise. I have no doubt that we met these requirements when selecting our distinguished colleagues. We have carefully reviewed their CVs and the work they have done, and I am confident in their ability to serve.
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This committee will advise the NBA on implementing the Rules of Professional Conduct regarding anti-money laundering guidelines and will also develop further guidelines. This effort is not limited to my tenure but is a continuing commitment. We need to ensure that future leadership understands the importance of this work and continues to support it.
Our work here is not just for the benefit of lawyers but for the entire country. It’s a structure that should be allowed to function, flourish, and begin to bear the fruits of our collective effort. I charge the committee to develop guidelines regulating their activities within seven days from today.
We will continue collaborating with law enforcement agencies, demonstrating our commitment and readiness to act responsibly. We will announce the date of the next workshop soon. The feedback from our last workshop was overwhelmingly positive, and it impels us to do even more.
I congratulate you and appreciate your dedication. Let’s work together to ensure this committee’s success and uphold our profession’s integrity.
List of appointees of the NBA Anti-Money Laundering Committee:
- Prof. Ernest Ojukwu SAN – Co-chair
- Mr Babajide Oladipo Ogundipe – Co-chair
- Prof. Adedeji Adekunle SAN – Member
- Alheri Bulus Nyako – Member
- Esa Okibe Onoja – Member
- Juliet Ibekaku-Nwagwu – Member
- Professor Umar Abubakar – Member
- Dr. Balkisu Saidu – Secretary
- Maryam Idris Abdulkadir – Assistant Secretary
- Dr Rowland Itoyah Otaru, SAN
I thank the members of the Committee for accepting this call to serve our noble association and enjoin us all to accord them the cooperation needed to deliver on their mandate.
Best regards,
Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau, SAN, OON
NBA President.
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