The acting Chairman of the Economic Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC Mr. Ibrahim Magu, has accused lawyers in the country especially SANS of frustrating the fight against corruption.
The EFCC boss made the accusation while delivering a speech titled “Need for Ethical Reforms” at the annual general conference of the Nigerian Bar Association in Abuja.
He said some Senior Advocates of Nigeria have been frustrating the anti-corruption war by intentionally supplying the technical know-how and helping in the dispersal of the proceeds of crime.
The EFCC boss accused a particular SAN whose name he failed to mention of allegedly receiving N1.7bn in legal fees from a corrupt politician without batting an eyelid.
He went further to accuse the same lawyer of receiving another N300m in legal fees from a State Governor in the South-South of the country. The alleged SAN failed to pay Tax on the extra income and only tool advantage of the Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Scheme when he realised he was being investigated by the EFCC.
Excerpts from Mr. Magu’s speech read;
“It is personally disheartening to see lawyers who invest their talents and expertise in advancing the cause of corrupt politicians and public officials. It is amazing that a senior lawyer can accept professional fees of N1.7bn from a politician without scruples!
The same lawyer with a turnover of N3, 765,414,995.24 only paid valued added tax of N7, 051,928.24. The N300m cash payment which the senior lawyer received from a South-South state government in an election petition matter in 2016 was never captured in his tax submissions to the Federal Inland Revenue Service.
Yet when he got wind of EFCC investigation, he was quick to take advantage of the VAIDS window as cover to shield himself from the commission’s dragnet.”
Read: EFCC Clash with Rivers State Government over Attempted Probe
The EFCC boss also accused another senior advocate of tax evasion running into billions of naira but paid only a fraction of the amount.
“Another senior lawyer who is quick to advertise himself as the nemesis of the EFCC, has a turnover of over N5.1bn with an assessed total tax liability of over a billion naira between 2010 and 2017. Sadly, he merely declared a meagre N8m as gross earnings for 2014 and 2015, and N10m for 2016,” Magu said.
The EFCC boss further reiterated that lawyers ought to know the sources of income of their clients before receiving any money from them.
He also appealed to lawyers to put the interest of Nigeria ahead of any other monetary consideration.
“While we are mindful of the fact that there may be more than one side to a situation which equally deserves of robust presentation and defence, we believe that no matter the positions we take on any issue, Nigeria should come first.” Mr. Magu reiterated.
Leave a Reply