Ola Olukoyede, Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has disclosed that no fewer than 100 senior lawyers in Nigeria are currently facing prosecution for corruption-related offences.
Olukoyede made the disclosure on Thursday in Abuja while speaking at the second annual lecture of the Body of Benchers, an event attended by leading members of the legal profession and key stakeholders in the justice sector.
The EFCC chairman said the anti-graft agency had received numerous petitions accusing members of the Bar of involvement in various financial crimes, prompting investigations and prosecutions.
“We have had calls to investigate quite a number of senior members of the Bar,” he said.
Read also: EFCC witness tells court $2m recovered from Emefiele’s lawyer
According to him, findings from ongoing investigations revealed 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,” Olukoyede said.
He stressed the need for closer collaboration between the EFCC and the legal profession to address misconduct and protect the integrity of the justice system.
“It has become very necessary for us to work together,” he added.
The disclosure came as the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) presented its 2025 report detailing sanctions imposed on erring lawyers.
Presenting the report, Onyechi Ikpeazu,
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said 17 legal practitioners were punished after being found guilty of professional misconduct.
According to him, the affected lawyers were sanctioned for what he described as “infamous conduct in the course of the performance of their duties as legal practitioners.”
Ikpeazu explained that the penalties ranged from striking off the roll of legal practitioners to various periods of suspension.
“Three of the indicted practitioners had their names struck off the roll of legal practitioners.
“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”, he said.
Kayode Ariwoola, Chairman of the Body of Benchers and former Chief Justice of Nigeria, said the lecture was convened to encourage reflection 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.
Also speaking, the Kudirat Kekere‑Ekun, Chief Justice of Nigeria, stressed the importance of effective regulation in preserving the integrity of the legal profession.
Read also: Yahaya Bello: Court fixes March 9 to rule on admissibility of EFCC document
She noted that the responsibilities of the Body of Benchers extend beyond the admission of lawyers into the profession to ensuring discipline and safeguarding public confidence in the justice system.
The Body of Benchers serves as the apex regulatory body responsible for the admission and discipline of legal practitioners in Nigeria.
Participants at the lecture stressed that strengthening discipline, ethics and professionalism within the Bar remains critical to restoring public trust in the nation’s justice system.
