Fake lawyer convicted in Lagos after charging client N7.5m, paying licensed lawyer N1.5m

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 and using a forged Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) seal.

According to Nigerian Tribune, Justice A.M. Lawal convicted Anoruo on August 4 after he pleaded guilty to two counts bordering on impersonation and the use of a counterfeit NBA seal.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested Anoruo on April 20, 2026, following investigations into a petition he submitted on behalf of clients against Global West Vessel Specialist Nigeria Limited. The anti-graft agency discovered that both the petition and a later withdrawal letter carried a forged NBA seal.

Investigators said Anoruo admitted obtaining the fake seal from a business centre in Lagos. He also claimed to have earned a law degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, through evening classes in 2018 but acknowledged that he never attended the Nigerian Law School and was never called to the Nigerian Bar.

During the trial, EFCC investigating officer Umar Faruk Ahmad testified that the Supreme Court enrolment number on the forged NBA seal belonged to another legal practitioner. He also revealed that Anoruo received N7.5 million for the legal brief but paid N1.5 million to a qualified lawyer to handle the case.

The witness further told the court that Anoruo appeared at the EFCC office dressed in legal attire when he honoured the commission’s invitation. A search of his residence later led to the recovery of the counterfeit NBA seal bearing another lawyer’s enrolment number.

The EFCC tendered several exhibits, including the forged documents, Anoruo’s statement, correspondence with the Body of Benchers and the Supreme Court, the legal attire, the counterfeit NBA seal, and evidence of a N300,000 bank draft paid into the EFCC recovery account. The defence did not object to the exhibits.

In his plea for leniency, defence counsel G.E. Demkemefa described Anoruo as a first-time offender and the sole breadwinner of his family, urging the court to impose a fine instead of a custodial sentence.

Justice Lawal fined the convict N120,000 on the first count and N150,000 on the second, bringing the total penalty to N270,000 payable to the Lagos State Judiciary. The court also ordered the forfeiture of the fake NBA seal and legal attire recovered from Anoruo to the Federal Government through the EFCC.