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

Justice A.M. Lawal delivered the judgment on Tuesday after Anoruo pleaded guilty to a two-count charge bordering on the fraudulent use of a counterfeit NBA seal and falsely presenting himself as a qualified legal practitioner.

The conviction followed his prosecution by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

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According to the anti-graft agency, Anoruo, who operated a legal and educational consultancy in Ikorodu, Lagos, was arrested on April 20, 2026, after investigations revealed that he had submitted a petition to the EFCC on behalf of clients using a forged NBA seal belonging to another lawyer.

The EFCC said its investigation began after receiving a petition from legal practitioner Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, who accused Anoruo of falsely claiming to be a lawyer while filing legal documents.

Investigators discovered that both a petition dated September 22, 2025, and a subsequent letter of withdrawal dated March 5, 2026, bore a counterfeit NBA seal with a Supreme Court enrolment number belonging to another legal practitioner.

During investigations, Anoruo admitted obtaining the forged seal from a business centre in Lagos. He also disclosed that although he earned a law degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 2018 through evening classes, he never attended the Nigerian Law School and was never called to the Nigerian Bar.

Testifying before the court, EFCC investigating officer Umar Faruk Ahmad said the defendant generated N7.5 million from the legal brief linked to the case, out of which he paid N1.5 million to a qualified lawyer to handle the matter on his behalf.

Ahmad further told the court that Anoruo appeared at the EFCC office wearing a legal practitioner’s robe and that a 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 against the complainant, the defendant’s extra-judicial statement, responses from the Body of Benchers and the Supreme Court of Nigeria, the legal practitioner’s attire, the forged NBA seal, and evidence of a N300,000 bank draft paid into the EFCC recovery account. The defence did not object to the admissibility of the exhibits.

Following the defendant’s guilty plea, prosecution counsel Saadatu Mahmud Yabo urged the court to convict him and order the forfeiture of the recovered items to the Federal Government.

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

Justice Lawal convicted the defendant on both counts and sentenced him to a fine of N120,000 on the first count and N150,000 on the second count, bringing the total fine to N270,000 payable to the Lagos State Judiciary.

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

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