The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Introduces Anti-Terrorist Financing, Anti-Money Laundering Laws

Lawyers in Nigeria are being instructed to follow anti-money laundering and terrorist financing laws as part of their practice direction by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

As part of NBA efforts to ensure the legal profession takes place in the country’s development, the new law on anti-terrorism financing, proliferation, and money laundering takes effect on January 1st, 2024. The NBA-SLP Annual Conference, held in Abuja, was opened by the NBA’s national president, Mr. Yakubu Maikyau, where he disclosed the new law to everyone. According to Maikyau, as he also warned politicians, “The fight against corruption in Nigeria is a legal fight; only lawyers can fight this fight and quit telling us that we are the ones in your ways.”

Following the president’s announcement, NBA officials revealed the NBA decided to add an anti-money laundering law to the legal practice to strengthen its war on corruption. They added that the law would take effect on January 1, 2024.

Maikyau said, “We will self-regulate ourselves and be at the vanguard against money laundering and terrorism financing, charting the course of Nigeria, building the country is the task of lawyers.”

During the conference opening, Paul Harris Ogbole, chairman of the Central Planning Committee, urged participants to explore globalisation in the practice of law during the conference. Chief Ferdinand Orbih, Chairman of the NBA-Section on Legal Practice, also spoke, saying that lawyers should take advantage of the opportunities created by artificial intelligence.

Medico-legal solutions to healthcare challenges established the theme of “Legal Practice Without Borders,” centred on the global transformation of the legal profession. Orbih added, “The age of Artificial Intelligence (Al), the largely unexplored legal spaces, et al. ‘Legal Practice Without Borders’ interrogates the widening scope of the legal services market and lifts the veil of jurisdictional stonewalling.”

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