Lagos Court Fines Convicted Fake Lawyer N270, 000

Justice A.M. Lawal of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja, has convicted and sentenced one John Nwawuto Anoruo for impersonating a lawyer and possession of a forged seal of the Nigerian Bar Association.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, arraigned Anoruo before the court after he was arrested by operatives of the EFCC on Monday, April 20, 2026, for allegedly operating a legal and educational consultancy in the Ikorodu area of Lagos.

His trouble began after he submitted a petition dated September 22, 2025, to the EFCC on behalf of his clients against the management of Global West Vessel Specialist Nigeria Limited.

However, investigations by the EFCC revealed that both the petition and a subsequent Letter of Withdrawal dated March 5, 2026, bore a forged NBA seal, which Anoruo admittedly obtained from an undisclosed business centre in Lagos.

Upon interrogation, the 55-year-old man claimed that although he obtained a law degree in 2018 from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, through evening classes, he did not attend the Nigerian Law School.

Based on the findings, the EFCC arraigned Anoruo in court on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, on a two-count charge bordering on the use of a counterfeit NBA seal and impersonation, following which he pleaded guilty.

Delivering his judgment, Justice Lawal held that “In view of the plea of the defendant, the defendant is hereby convicted on the two counts."

Justice Lawal subsequently sentenced the defendant to a fine of N120,000.00 (One Hundred and Twenty Thousand Naira) on count one and N150,000.00 (One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira) on count two, bringing the total fine to N270,000.00 (Two Hundred and Seventy Thousand Naira), payable to the Lagos State Judiciary.

The court also ordered that the legal practitioner's attire and the forged NBA seal recovered from the defendant be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria through the EFCC.