An Electrifying Liberation For Lawyer/Client Confidentiality In Nigeria

INTRODUCTION

The Federal High Court (the "FHC") sitting in Abuja (FCT) on Friday, 19^th July 2024, delivered judgment in the case between Abu Arome v. Central Bank of Nigeria & 3 Ors.¹ The most momentous case pitted a Legal Practitioner, Abu Arome (the "Applicant" or "Mr. Arome"), against the Central Bank of Nigeria (the "CBN"), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (the "EFCC"), Guarantee Trust Bank ("GTB") and the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation (the "HAGF"), as parties, and challenged the constitutionality of some of the most controversial sections of the Money Laundry (Prevention and Prohibition) Act² (the "MLA"), as it relates to Legal Practitioners, including the provisions of sections 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 30 of the Act, which purported to re-include Legal Practitioners and Notary Publics as designated non-financial businesses and professions ("DNFBP'') mandated, to register with the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering ("SCUML"