Magu, CJN Urges NBA, Legal Practitioners to Support Anti-Corruption War

•Vows to prosecute money launderers

Senator Iroegbu in Abuja

The Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, has called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and legal practitioners in the country to join hands with the Commission in its bid to rid Nigeria of corruption.

Magu gave this charge on Tuesday in Abuja at the opening of a one-day workshop organised by the NBA, in collaboration with the Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption (PACC) with the theme: “Anti-Corruption, Ethics of the Legal Profession and Justice Sector”.

He said that the EFCC cannot stamp out corruption in the country without the support of all stakeholders.

“We consider everybody a stakeholder, as the EFCC does not have monopoly of knowledge to defeat all shades of graft”, he remarked.

Magu urged legal practitioners to always play by the rule and avoid being used by corrupt elements to pervert justice, adding, “What is important is the interest of the nation which should be placed above any other interest.”

He commended the bar for being good partners in the fight against graft, but decried the attitudes of some lawyers who compromise on their jobs for criminals to escape justice.

The anti-corruption czar stressed that lawyers have a greater stake in the war more than any other class of professional.

He restated his commitment towards fighting money laundering, warning that, “we will not stop going after people who are involved in laundering money”.

“It doesn’t matter who you are, the law is a respecter of nobody especially those who commit crime.

“Whether you are EFCC, SAN or whatever, sooner or later we will start going after people who buy properties with stolen funds as well as people who help others to escape justice”, Magu declared.

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