Femi Falana (SAN)
While speaking in the current edition of ALERT, a monthly pull-out
by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), popular
Lagos-based human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has opened up on how some
of his colleagues felt he was “stupid” because he rejected a N405
million money laundering deal from an unnamed governor.
The outspoken senior advocate of Nigeria, explained that the
governor confessed that he decided to choose the lawyer because “nobody
will suspect you”, adding that his colleagues who accepted the offer
were later arrested and humiliated.
“The governor asked me to assist him in transferring money
abroad, and that I should claim it to be proceeds from sale of his
property in Nigeria. And the price was extremely attractive.
“He was going to pay me a million pounds then, when money was
money. The governor said he had chosen me for the shady deal, because
‘nobody will suspect you.’ And I told him, ‘Your Excellency, so it is my
reputation that you want to buy with your one million pounds?’
“Some of my colleagues thought I was stupid, but those who
accepted the offer later found themselves in trouble, as they were
arrested and humiliated. They were only lucky not to have been charged
to court.
“Lawyers have a paramount role to play in the fight against
economic and financial crimes, as they are the ones usually employed by
well-heeled members of the society to help perfect documents for illicit
transactions, and to cover up their tracks,” he said.
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