Olayiwola Matthew
No fewer than 100 senior lawyers are on trial for corruption-related offences, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman Ola Olukoyede said yesterday.
He spoke in Abuja at the second annual lecture of the Body of Benchers.
The event was attended by leading figures in the legal profession.
The EFCC chairman expressed concern over the growing involvement of lawyers in financial crimes.
He noted that the anti-graft agency had received multiple petitions against members of the profession.
“We have had calls to investigate quite a number of senior members of the Bar,” he said.
Olukoyede, a lawyer, added that investigations uncovered offences ranging from the diversion of clients’ funds to aiding money laundering.
“Before I came here, I checked our database and discovered that we have about 100 senior members of the Bar that we are prosecuting at the moment for those offences.
“It has become very necessary for us to work together,” he said.
Also, the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) presented its 2025 report, highlighting sanctions imposed on erring lawyers.
Presenting the report, Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN) said 17 legal practitioners were punished after being found guilty of professional misconduct.
According to him, the affected lawyers were sanctioned for “infamous conduct in the course of the performance of their duties as legal practitioners.”
Ikpeazu said the penalties ranged from striking off to suspension.
“Three of the indicted practitioners had their names struck off the roll of legal practitioners,” he said.
“Three were suspended for five years, two were suspended for four years, five were suspended for three years, four were suspended for two years, while the last one was given a warning.”
Chairman of the Body of Benchers and former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Kayode Ariwoola, said the gathering was meant to reflect on the state of the legal profession and reinforce ethical standards.
“Our gathering today is not a jamboree. It is a time of reflection on our values, ethics and ethos as well as our resilience and faith in the institution,” Ariwoola said.
Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, emphasised the importance of regulation in sustaining the integrity of the legal profession.
She said the responsibilities of the Body of Benchers extend beyond admitting lawyers into the profession to maintaining discipline and preserving public confidence in the justice system.
The Body of Benchers is the apex regulatory body responsible for the admission and discipline of legal practitioners in Nigeria.
Participants at the lecture, according to Channels Television report, stressed that strengthening discipline, ethics and professionalism within the Bar remains essential to restoring public trust in the justice system.
