Legal Statements

  1. General
  2. Ethics and professional standards policy
  3. Anti-corruption statement
  4. Data Privacy
  5. Anti-money laundering policies and procedures
  6. Human rights
  7. Slavery and human trafficking
  8. Professional indemnity insurance
  9. Copyright and links
  10. Disclaimer
  1. General

Aspen Sahel Legal (“Aspen Sahel”) is a legal practice and consultancy registered in Nigeria. Aspen Sahel is authorised and regulated by the Nigerian Body of Benchers and the Nigerian Bar Association.

  1. Ethics and Professional Standards Policy

Aspen Sahel is committed to the highest ethical and professional standards. These apply to all our people, regardless of role, and location. Aspen Sahel people are required to act professionally and in compliance with relevant laws, regulations and Bar rules.

These ethical and professional standards include:

  • acting with integrity, professionalism and fairness
  • acting in the best interests of each client, including providing a proper standard of service to our clients
  • upholding the rule of law and the proper administration of justice
  • behaving in a way that maintains the trust the public has in the provision of legal services
  • maintaining our independence

The Firm has internal policies intended to help its people comply with these standards and with relevant laws and regulations.

  1. Anti-Corruption Statement

Aspen Sahel has a zero tolerance policy towards bribery and corruption. We are committed to:

  • conducting business in a manner that complies with applicable laws and is consistent with the highest ethical standards including, among other things, standards intended to prevent bribery and corruption, and
  • using our best endeavours to ensure that those who perform services for and on behalf of Aspen Sahel – including employees, contractors, foreign counsel and agents – are aware of and share our commitment to conducting business ethically.

The Firm is subject to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act, the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act and the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act in respect of its activities throughout the world and has adopted an Anti-Corruption stance in line with the mischief which these laws seek to cure. The policy is based on an assessment by Aspen Sahel of the external and internal bribery risks that face us, and reflects fundamental standards that Aspen Sahel expects those from who perform services for us and on our behalf to abide by when acting on our behalf.

Aspen Sahel will not use third parties or intermediaries to engage on its behalf in unethical practices that would be prohibited under any applicable laws if undertaken by Aspen Sahel. Aspen Sahel expects that all third parties and intermediaries that it engages will conduct themselves accordingly when acting on behalf or for the benefit of Aspen Sahel. Aspen Sahel is committed to transparency on its ethical standards and anti-bribery initiatives and has established procedures to encourage employees to report instances or allegations of policy violations.

  1. Data Privacy

Aspen Sahel takes data privacy seriously. We have a global policy which is based on the extant data privacy regulation in Nigeria. For more information see our privacy statement.

  1. Anti-Money Laundering Policies and Procedures

Our anti-money laundering (AML) policies are generally based on the highest standards that are required in the jurisdictions where we operate, and apply in relation to all of our business in all of our offices all over the world. The Firm conducts client due diligence enquiries on each new client and persons connected with them and conducts ongoing monitoring of existing clients.  Where necessary for these purposes, we seek relevant information from third party data suppliers. Where individuals have supplied personal data for this purpose we will only use it for that purpose and will keep it only as long as the relevant AML and data protection legislation requires.

The Firm also has internal procedures to ensure that any suspicions of money laundering are reported to the appropriate authorities where there is an obligation to do so. Lawyers and other relevant staff are provided with training on these issues.

  1. Human rights

The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights which were unanimously endorsed by the Human Rights Council in 2011 state that all business enterprises have a responsibility to respect human rights. As a Firm we have agreed to support and respect internationally recognised human rights, both as part of our commitment to the UN Global Compact and consistent with the UN Guiding Principles.

  1. Slavery and human trafficking

Aspen Sahel opposes all forms of slavery and human trafficking, and is committed to taking steps to ensure that these do not occur in its business or in its supply chains.

  1. Professional indemnity insurance

We hold the requisite professional indemnity insurance cover for our business in Nigeria and will do so in any other jurisdictions where we operate

  1. Copyright and links

The materials contained on this website are provided for general information purposes only and do not constitute legal or other professional advice. Neither Aspen Sahel nor any other Aspen Sahel entity accepts any responsibility for any loss which may arise from reliance on information published on this site.

The materials published on this website are unless otherwise stated the copyright works of Aspen Sahel or another Aspen Sahel entity. You may make copies of materials published which are of interest to you for your own personal use and you may provide occasional copies of individual publications (in paper or electronic form) to others for information purposes only provided that you do so free of charge. When you do make copies for yourself or others, the content of the published material and the copyright notices must remain intact, your communication of the content must not be misleading or inaccurate and a copy of this notice must accompany any copies of the materials which you provide to others. You may not republish any content or material available on our website on any other public website or alerter service without our prior written consent. You may not create a link to any part of our website, without our prior written consent, which can be requested by contacting Website Feedback. No other use of the materials published on this website is permitted without the express prior written consent of Aspen Sahel or another Aspen Sahel entity.

  1. Disclaimer

The information materials and opinions contained on this website are for general information purposes only, are not intended to constitute legal or other professional advice, and should not be relied on or treated as a substitute for specific advice relevant to particular circumstances. Neither Aspen Sahel nor any other Aspen Sahel entity accepts any responsibility for any loss which may arise from reliance on information or materials published on this website. If you wish to find out more about the information in the materials published, please contact a Aspen Sahel partner.

Certain parts of this site link to external internet sites, and other external internet sites may link to this website. Aspen Sahel is not responsible for the content of any external internet sites.