Join our Telegram group and receive breaking and trending news updates directly on your phone.
Join for News Updates ✕Fake Lawyer Convicted for Collecting ₦7.5m From Client, Using Forged NBA Seal
Tags: crime, EFCC, Fake Lawyer, Fraud, John Nwawuto Anoruo, Lagos High Court, NBA, Nigerian Bar Association
A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has convicted and sentenced a 55-year-old man, John Nwawuto Anoruo, for impersonating a legal practitioner, using a forged Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) seal and collecting ₦7.5 million from a client under false pretences.
Justice A.M. Lawal convicted Anoruo after he pleaded guilty to a two-count charge bordering on impersonation and the use of a counterfeit NBA seal.
https://voxnews.com.ng/how-umo-enos-arise-agenda-earned-him-south-souths-highest-governance-honour/
According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the convict operated a legal and educational consultancy in Ikorodu, Lagos State, where he allegedly posed as a qualified legal practitioner despite never being called to the Nigerian Bar.
The anti-graft agency said investigations began after a petition and a subsequent withdrawal letter submitted by Anoruo on behalf of clients were discovered to bear a forged NBA seal.
During interrogation, Anoruo admitted that he obtained a law degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 2018 through evening classes but confessed that he never attended the Nigerian Law School, making him ineligible to practise law in Nigeria.
Further investigations revealed that the Supreme Court enrolment number appearing on the counterfeit NBA seal belonged to another legal practitioner.
The defendant also confessed to obtaining the fake seal from a business centre in Lagos.
An EFCC investigator told the court that Anoruo received ₦7.5 million from a legal brief but paid ₦1.5 million to a licensed lawyer to handle the matter on his behalf.
The investigator further disclosed that Anoruo appeared at the EFCC office wearing a lawyer’s robe, while a search of his residence led to the recovery of the forged NBA seal and other legal paraphernalia used in carrying out the impersonation.
Following his guilty plea, Justice Lawal found him guilty on both counts.
His counsel pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, arguing that the defendant was a first-time offender and the sole breadwinner of a family of seven.
In his judgment, Justice Lawal imposed a fine of ₦120,000 on the first count and ₦150,000 on the second count, bringing the total fine to ₦270,000.
The court also ordered the forfeiture of the counterfeit NBA seal and legal attire recovered from the convict to the Federal Government through the EFCC.
The conviction highlights ongoing efforts by the EFCC and the judiciary to curb impersonation and protect the integrity of Nigeria’s legal profession.