The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has revealed that at least 100 senior lawyers are currently facing prosecution for corruption-related offences, in a development that underscores growing concerns about financial misconduct within Nigeria’s legal profession.
EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, disclosed this on Friday while delivering the keynote address at the second annual lecture of the Body of Benchers in Abuja, an event attended by top figures in the legal sector.
According to Olukoyede, investigations into members of the bar have uncovered offences ranging from 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,” he said, noting that multiple petitions had been received against legal practitioners.
He called for greater collaboration between the EFCC and the legal community to stem the rising tide of corruption. “It has become very necessary for us to work together,” Olukoyede said.
Also presenting at the lecture, Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), representing the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC), highlighted the disciplinary actions taken against lawyers in 2025.
Seventeen practitioners were sanctioned for professional misconduct, with penalties ranging from suspension to striking off the roll of legal practitioners.
“Three of the indicted practitioners had their names struck off the roll of legal practitioners,” Ikpeazu said. “Three were suspended for five years, two for four years, five for three years, four for two years, while one received a warning.”
The Chairman of the Body of Benchers, former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Kayode Ariwoola, said the lecture was meant to foster reflection on ethics, values, and the integrity of the legal profession.
“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.
Meanwhile, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, stressed that the Body of Benchers has a duty not only to admit lawyers into the profession but also to uphold discipline and preserve public confidence in the justice system.
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