EFCC Warns Lawyers: Stop Charging Fees in Dollars

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has issued a strong warning to legal practitioners nationwide to stop charging clients in foreign currencies, describing the practice as both illegal and unethical. The agency stressed that the naira remains Nigeria’s sole legal tender and vowed to prosecute any lawyer found culpable.

The directive was delivered on Friday, September 11, 2026, in Lagos by the Acting Zonal Director of the EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 (Ikoyi), Assistant Commander of the EFCC (ACE I) Bawa Usman Kaltungo. He spoke while receiving a delegation of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Lagos Task Force on Illegal Practice of Law, led by its head, Moshood Abiola, during a courtesy visit.

Kaltungo expressed deep concern over the conduct of some lawyers involved in illegal and unethical practices. He disclosed that the directorate is already handling two cases involving lawyers who allegedly billed their clients in dollars. “We have two cases of lawyers who were found to have charged fees in dollars. This is unethical and illegal, as the naira is the country’s legal tender,” he said. “We usually don’t want to have issues with members of the NBA.

However, some lawyers are pushing us. Any lawyer we find culpable of charging clients in foreign currencies will be prosecuted.”

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The EFCC official also cautioned lawyers against using the Commission’s name to justify or impose excessive fees on clients. While acknowledging that practitioners are free to determine their professional charges, he insisted they must not falsely claim that such fees are required or sanctioned by the EFCC.

“Lawyers should stop name-dropping the EFCC to overcharge their clients. They have the right to charge their clients as much as they like, but they shouldn’t drag the EFCC into it. They should desist from all these unethical practices,”

The warning forms part of the EFCC’s wider campaign against the “dollarisation” of domestic transactions in Nigeria. Similar advisories have previously targeted schools, hotels, supermarkets, real estate firms and other businesses that demand payment in foreign currencies for local goods and services. The practice is viewed as contrary to Section 20(1) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007, which designates the naira as the only legal tender.

Abiola, on behalf of the NBA task force, commended the Commission for its recent swift prosecution and conviction of a fake lawyer, describing the outcome as “reassuring.” He noted that the task force is handling several cases of alleged malpractice by lawyers and called for stronger collaboration with the EFCC to ensure that errant practitioners face the full weight of the law. “We appreciate the EFCC for the recent prosecution of a fake lawyer. It was swift, and we are glad that the EFCC was able to get the court to convict him. However, recently, we have a case involving a lawyer who has been engaging in malpractice. We have several cases like that, and we would like to strengthen our collaboration with the EFCC so that these individuals can be prosecuted and made to face the law,” he said.

In response, ACE I Orhieoghene Adewunmi of the Department of Legal and Prosecution urged the NBA to publicise details of lawyers sanctioned for professional misconduct. Such transparency, she said, would enable members of the public to identify and avoid practitioners who have been disciplined.

ACE II Henry Anasoh, also of the same department, raised further concerns about certain lawyers who allegedly assist suspects in obstructing investigations or frustrating the administration of justice. He cited instances where lawyers helped clients forge documents for bail applications—including purported medical records—and cases in which practitioners approached the courts to restrain the EFCC from investigating or prosecuting their clients through fundamental rights enforcement suits arising from invitations issued by the Commission. Anasoh called on the NBA to support the EFCC in ridding the legal profession of “unscrupulous practitioners,” stressing that the actions of a few should not tarnish the integrity of the entire bar.

The EFCC’s engagement with the NBA also reflects its ongoing oversight of designated non-financial businesses and professions, including law firms and independent legal practitioners, through the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML). Professional fees charged by lawyers are regulated under the Legal Practitioners’ Remuneration (for Business, Legal Service and Representation) Order 2023, which sets minimum fees for various services.

The Commission has assured the NBA of its continued readiness to partner with the association in sanitising the legal profession and upholding the rule of law.