Fake Lawyer Sentenced to N270,000 Fine for Impersonation, Forged NBA Seal in Lagos

Fake Lawyer Sentenced to N270,000 Fine for Impersonation, Forged NBA Seal in Lagos

A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has convicted and sentenced 55-year-old John Nwawuto Anoruo, a fake lawyer, for impersonation and the use of a forged seal of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

Justice A.M. Lawal delivered the judgment on Tuesday, 4 August 2026, after Anoruo pleaded guilty to the two-count charge brought against him by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Anoruo, who operated a legal and educational consultancy in the Ikorodu area of Lagos, was arrested by EFCC operatives on 20 April 2026 following investigations into his activities.

The case originated from a petition he submitted to the EFCC on 22 September 2025 on behalf of clients against the management of Global West Vessel Specialist Nigeria Limited. Investigators subsequently discovered that the petition, as well as a Letter of Withdrawal dated 5 March 2026, carried a forged NBA seal.

During investigations, Anoruo admitted obtaining the counterfeit seal from an undisclosed business centre in Lagos. He also told investigators that although he obtained a law degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 2018 through evening classes, he never attended the Nigerian Law School and was therefore not called to the Nigerian Bar.

One of the charges against him bordered on the fraudulent use of a counterfeit NBA seal bearing Supreme Court enrolment number SCN037400, which actually belonged to another legal practitioner.

The second count accused him of falsely presenting himself to the EFCC as a duly qualified legal practitioner and as the legitimate holder of the NBA seal.

EFCC Investigation Uncovers Fraudulent Activities

At the trial, EFCC investigating officer Umar Faruk Ahmad, who testified for the prosecution, told the court that the Commission received a petition from legal practitioner Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika on 15 April 2026.

According to Ahmad, the petitioner alleged that Anoruo had filed a petition against him and his law firm while falsely representing himself as a lawyer.

Investigations subsequently established that the Supreme Court enrolment number displayed on the NBA seal used by Anoruo belonged to another lawyer.

The witness said Anoruo admitted obtaining the counterfeit seal from a business centre and acknowledged that he had never been called to the Nigerian Bar.

The investigation further revealed that Anoruo received N7.5 million from the legal brief. Out of the amount, he paid N1.5 million to a qualified lawyer to handle the matter on his behalf.

Ahmad also told the court that Anoruo appeared at the EFCC office wearing legal practitioner’s attire when he honoured the Commission’s invitation. A subsequent search of his residence led to the recovery of the counterfeit NBA seal bearing another lawyer’s enrolment number.

The prosecution tendered several exhibits, including the petition, Anoruo’s extra-judicial statement, correspondence between the EFCC and the Body of Benchers and Supreme Court of Nigeria, the legal practitioner’s attire, the counterfeit NBA seal and evidence of a N300,000 payment into the EFCC recovery account.

The defence did not object to the admissibility of the exhibits, which Justice Lawal admitted and marked as Exhibits 1 to 9.

Court Imposes N270,000 Fine

During his allocutus, Anoruo told the court that he paid N2.5 million to the individual who introduced the legal brief to him and another N1.5 million to the lawyer he engaged to handle the case.

Prosecution counsel, Saadatu Mahmud Yabo, urged the court to convict and sentence him in accordance with his guilty plea and also sought the forfeiture of the recovered exhibits to the Federal Government.

Justice Lawal, in his judgment, held that, based on the defendant’s guilty plea, “the defendant is hereby convicted on the two counts.”

Defence counsel, G.E. Demkemefa, pleaded for leniency, describing Anoruo as a first-time offender and the breadwinner of a family comprising his wife and five children. Counsel urged the court to impose a fine instead of a custodial sentence.

The court subsequently sentenced Anoruo to:

N120,000 fine on count one.

N150,000 fine on count two.

The total fine amounts to N270,000, payable to the Lagos State Judiciary.

Justice Lawal also ordered that the legal practitioner’s attire and forged NBA seal recovered from Anoruo be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria through the EFCC.

The conviction underscores the EFCC’s continued efforts to investigate and prosecute individuals who engage in fraudulent representations and other forms of economic and professional misconduct.

Fake Lawyer Sentenced to N270,000 Fine for Impersonation, Forged NBA Seal in Lagos