FG Pays N1.1 Billion to Afe Babalola, Wole Olanipekun, Others for Legal Services

An analysis of data from GovSpend, a platform that monitors government expenditures, has revealed that the Federal Government (FG), through the Ministry of Justice, paid N1.1 billion in professional fees to leading Nigerian lawyers over a three-year period.

The beneficiaries include prominent legal practitioners Chief Afe Babalola, SAN, Wole Olanipekun, SAN, and 23 other law firms. These payments cover a broad range of legal services, including advisory roles, document preparation, court representation, risk management, advocacy, regulatory compliance, and transactional tasks such as identifying potential risks in business and real estate dealings.

Despite the Legal Practitioners Remuneration Order, 2023, which establishes a scale of charges for legal services, the significant expenditure raises concerns about the transparency and accountability of government spending on legal services.

Further analysis, published by The Punch, shows that in July 2024 alone, Babalola, Olanipekun, and Dr. Alex Izinyon, SAN, collectively received N482.7 million. Babalola was paid N372.9 million on July 23 for his representation in a court case (FHC/ABJ/SC/8962/2023), while Olanipekun and Izinyon were paid N103.6 million and N6.2 million, respectively, for other legal services. Their payments were disbursed on July 26 and July 29.

The data also highlights that 17 lawyers were paid a cumulative N359.7 million in 2022, while four lawyers received a total of N319.3 million in 2021. Some notable payments in 2022 include N70.9 million to LDS Legal, N31.4 million to Sulaiman Salihu & Co (in two tranches), and N29 million to Savannah Law Chambers.

In 2021, Mr. Chikwendu Madumere received N174 million, LDS Legal was paid N21.8 million, Olowolafe & Co received N21.8 million, and Sulaiman Salihu & Co was disbursed N100.5 million in two tranches.

Tax compliance was also noted among the top earners. Chief Afe Babalola paid a 7.5% Value Added Tax (VAT) of N31 million and a 10% withholding tax of N41.4 million, while Wole Olanipekun paid N8.6 million in VAT and N11.5 million in withholding tax.