Lagos, Nigeria – November 6, 2025:
The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, has reaffirmed the Association’s commitment to strengthening Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) compliance within the Nigerian legal profession.
Speaking at the one-day Training of Trainers (ToT) Workshop on Anti-Money Laundering Compliance and Use of the NBA-AML Portal held in Lagos, organized by the African Center for Governance, Asset Recovery and Sustainable Development, the NBA President, represented by Augustine Nwabueze Eseagwu III, praised the Association’s steadfast commitment to integrity, highlighting lawyers as frontline defenders of transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s legal and financial sectors.
“Our duty is clear: we must ensure that the legal profession is never weaponized against the integrity of Nigeria’s financial system,” Osigwe stated. “This workshop is designed to strengthen that resolve.”
The workshop, organized in collaboration with the Nigerian Bar Association Anti-Money Laundering Committee, brought together representatives from various NBA branches to deepen their understanding of risk-based compliance approaches and to equip them as in-house trainers for cascading AML knowledge across the Association.
NBA-AML Portal: A Landmark Step in Self-Regulation
Osigwe highlighted the NBA-Anti-Money Laundering Portal as a groundbreaking innovation for professional self-regulation within the legal sector. The portal enables Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) and Suspicious Transaction Reporting (STR), as well as transparent record-keeping and firm-level monitoring, tools designed to ensure that law practices do not become conduits for illicit financial transactions.
“The portal should not be seen merely as a technical tool, but as a symbol of our collective commitment to transparency, accountability, and ethical practice,” he added.
Partnership with the African Center
The NBA President also acknowledged the African Center for Governance, Asset Recovery and Sustainable Development as a credible partner whose technical support has driven key innovations, including the development of the AML portal. He recalled that in 2024, the African Center collaborated with the NBA Anti-Money Laundering Committee (AMLC) to conduct a comprehensive AML/CFT/PF risk assessment of Nigeria’s legal sector. The partnership has continued in 2025, with the Center supporting the NBA AMLC in developing a risk-based supervision toolkit and conducting targeted compliance capacity-building programmes.
Supporting Nigeria’s Exit from the FATF Grey List
Mazi Osigwe emphasized that these interventions are part of Nigeria’s broader effort to address the country’s current placement on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list, which signals vulnerabilities to money laundering and terrorism financing.
“The role of the legal profession in reversing this narrative cannot be overstated. By building capacity, ensuring compliance, and promoting transparency, we position ourselves as part of the solution,” he said.
He further charged participants to serve as change agents within their branches. Chief Osigwe called on lawyers to uphold the highest standards of professional ethics and integrity.
The Training of Trainers workshop marks another milestone in the NBA’s sustained collaboration with the African Center, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML), and other regulatory bodies, aimed at establishing a strong compliance culture in Nigeria’s legal profession.
