A 55-year-old man, John Nwawuto Anoruo, has been convicted by a Lagos State High Court for impersonating a legal practitioner after collecting ₦7.5 million from a legal brief despite never being called to the Nigerian Bar.

The convict, who operated a legal and educational consultancy in Ikorodu, Lagos, admitted during investigations that he was not qualified to practise law in Nigeria. He also confessed to using a forged Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) seal belonging to another lawyer to present himself as a legal practitioner.

According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Anoruo secured the legal brief and received ₦7.5 million from his clients. However, knowing he could not legally appear in court, he allegedly paid ₦1.5 million to a qualified lawyer to handle the case on his behalf while he kept the remaining funds.

Investigations further revealed that the fake lawyer had submitted a petition to the EFCC on behalf of clients against Global West Vessel Specialist Nigeria Limited. Both the original petition and a later withdrawal letter were found to bear a counterfeit NBA seal.

During interrogation, Anoruo admitted that he purchased the fake NBA seal from a business centre in Lagos. Although he claimed to have obtained a law degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 2018 through evening classes, he confessed that he never attended the Nigerian Law School and was never called to the Bar.

The case was brought before Justice A.M. Lawal of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja. Anoruo pleaded guilty to two counts of impersonation and possession and use of a counterfeit NBA seal.

EFCC Investigation

An EFCC investigating officer told the court that the defendant even appeared at the Commission’s office wearing a lawyer’s robe. A subsequent search of his residence led to the recovery of the counterfeit NBA seal and legal attire.

Following his guilty plea, the court convicted him on both counts and imposed fines of ₦120,000 and ₦150,000 respectively, bringing the total fine to ₦270,000.

Justice Lawal also ordered that the forged NBA seal and the legal practitioner’s robe recovered from the convict be forfeited to the Federal Government through the EFCC