Man Sentenced for Impersonating Lawyer With Fake NBA Seal in Lagos

(John Nwawuto Anoruo. Photo by The Nigeria Lawyer)

A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has convicted and sentenced 55-year-old John Nwawuto Anoruo for impersonating a legal practitioner and using a forged Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) seal.

Justice A.M. Lawal convicted Anoruo after he pleaded guilty to two counts bordering on impersonation and the use of a counterfeit NBA seal.

According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Anoruo, who ran a legal and educational consultancy in Ikorodu, was arrested after investigations revealed that a petition and a subsequent withdrawal letter he submitted on behalf of clients bore a forged NBA seal.

Investigators said Anoruo claimed to have obtained a law degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 2018 through evening classes, but admitted he had never attended the Nigerian Law School and was therefore not qualified to practise law in Nigeria.

The EFCC further discovered that the Supreme Court enrolment number on the NBA seal he used actually belonged to another lawyer, and that he had obtained the counterfeit seal from a business centre in Lagos.

During trial, an EFCC investigator told the court that Anoruo had received ₦7.5 million for handling a legal brief but paid only ₦1.5 million to a licensed lawyer to actually manage the case on his behalf.

The investigator also disclosed that Anoruo once appeared at the EFCC's office dressed in a lawyer's robe, and that a search of his residence led to the recovery of the forged NBA seal.

Following his guilty plea, the court convicted him on both counts. His lawyer pleaded for leniency, describing him as a first-time offender and the sole breadwinner of a family of seven.

Justice Lawal fined Anoruo ₦120,000 on one count and ₦150,000 on the other, bringing the total fine to ₦270,000.

The court also ordered the forfeiture of the forged NBA seal and legal attire recovered from him to the Federal Government, through the EFCC.