Lawyers in Nigeria have been advised to be conversant with the money laundering laws to ensure compliance and avoid aiding such crimes.

The advice was given in Owerri by the co-chair of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Committee, Prof Ernest Ojukwu (SAN), during the Training of Trainers (TOT) Workshop on the AML Counter Financing of Terrorism (CFT) and the use of the NBA AML Portal.

The event was organised by the African Centre for Governance, Asset Recovery and Sustainable Development (the African Centre), with funding support from the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (UK FCDO).

The training, he noted, was to highlight the steps being taken to support legal practitioners to meet their AML/CFT compliance obligations, one of which is the NBA AML Suspicious Transaction Reporting portal.

He advised the participants that their deep knowledge and practice of the AML and CFT laws would save them from running into trouble with their clients.

The participants included representatives from the NBA branches in Imo and Abia States, comprising Owerri, Aba, Umuahia, Ohafia, Isiala-Ngwa, Ukwa, Okigwe, Orlu, Mbaise and Mbano-Etiti.

In their respective speeches and papers presentations, the Deputy Project Director, African Centre for Governance, Asset Recovery and Sustainable Development, Nma Nnaobi-Ayodele, Programme Officer of Jerusa Nimfel, Chris Ugwuala, told the participants to share their training knowledge in all money and property laundry issues with other colleagues.

They advised that it can be done by working through the NBA-AMLC, which is already strengthening necessary frameworks to reduce the risk of money laundering among lawyers and ensure compliance in national and international legal practice.