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 possessing a forged seal of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

Justice A.M. Lawal convicted Anoruo on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, after he pleaded guilty to two counts bordering on the use of a counterfeit NBA seal and impersonation.

Anoruo, who operated a legal and educational consultancy in the Ikorodu area of Lagos, was arrested by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on April 20, 2026.

The convict’s troubles began after he submitted a petition dated September 22, 2025, to the EFCC on behalf of clients against the management of Global West Vessel Specialist Nigeria Limited.

However, investigations by the anti-graft agency revealed that the petition and a subsequent letter of withdrawal dated March 5, 2026, bore a forged NBA seal, which, according to the EFCC, Anoruo admitted to obtaining from an undisclosed business centre in Lagos.

During investigation, the agency explained that the defendant claimed that he obtained a law degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 2018 through evening classes but admitted that he did not attend the Nigerian Law School.

Following the conclusion of the investigation, the EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 arraigned him on two counts bordering on the use of a counterfeit NBA seal and impersonation.

One of the counts reads: “That you, JOHN NWAWUTO ANORUO, sometime between 2025 and 2026, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, fraudulently used a counterfeited seal titled ‘Nigerian Bar Association’ with Supreme Court Number SCN037400, with intent that same be acted upon as genuine and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 366(1) and punishable under Section 365(1)(x) of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.” 

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The second count alleged that he falsely represented himself to the EFCC as a legal practitioner duly certified to practice law in Nigeria and as the legitimate holder of the NBA seal bearing the enrollment number, which actually belonged to another legal practitioner.

A statement by the EFCC explained that the defendant pleaded guilty to both charges.

Following his plea, prosecution counsel, Saadatu Mahmud Yabo, called an EFCC investigating officer, Umar Faruk Ahmad, to present the facts of the case.

Ahmad told the court that the EFCC received a petition from a legal practitioner, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, alleging that Anoruo had filed a petition against him and his law firm while falsely presenting himself as a lawyer.

The investigating officer said further checks showed that the Supreme Court enrolment number on the NBA seal used by Anoruo belonged to another legal practitioner.

He added that Anoruo admitted obtaining the counterfeit seal from a business centre and confirmed that he had not been called to the Nigerian Bar.

According to the EFCC witness, Anoruo earned N7.5 million from the legal brief in question but allegedly paid N1.5 million to a qualified lawyer to handle the matter on his behalf.

Ahmad also told the court that when Anoruo honoured an EFCC invitation, he arrived at the Commission’s office wearing legal practitioner’s attire.

A subsequent search of his residence led to the recovery of the counterfeit NBA seal bearing another lawyer’s Supreme Court 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, the legal practitioner’s attire, the counterfeit NBA seal and evidence of a N300,000 bank draft paid into the EFCC’s recovery account.

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

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

Prosecution counsel urged the court to convict and sentence him in accordance with his guilty plea and also sought an order forfeiting the exhibits to the Federal Government.

In his judgment, Justice Lawal said, “In view of the plea of the defendant, the defendant is hereby convicted on the two counts.”

Defence counsel, G.E. Demkemefa, pleaded for leniency, describing Anoruo as a first-time offender who did not waste the time of the court or the EFCC.

Counsel also told the court that the defendant was the breadwinner of a family comprising his wife and five children, urging the judge to impose a fine rather than a custodial sentence.

Justice Lawal subsequently sentenced Anoruo to a fine of N120,000 on count one and N150,000 on count two, bringing the total fine to N270,000 payable to the Lagos State Judiciary.

The court further ordered that the legal practitioner’s attire and forged NBA seal recovered from the defendant be forfeited to the federal government through the EFCC.