Fake Lawyer Fined ₦270,000 for Using Forged NBA Seal in Lagos

A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has convicted a 55-year-old man, John Nwawuto Anoruo, for impersonating a legal practitioner and using a forged seal of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in a case prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Justice A.M. Lawal delivered the judgment after Anoruo pleaded guilty to a two-count charge bordering on impersonation and the fraudulent use of a counterfeit NBA seal. The court imposed fines totaling ₦270,000; ₦120,000 on the first count and ₦150,000 on the second, and ordered the forfeiture of the forged NBA seal and legal practitioner’s attire recovered from the defendant to the Federal Government through the EFCC.

According to the EFCC, the case stemmed from a petition Anoruo submitted on behalf of clients against Global West Vessel Specialist Nigeria Limited. Investigators later discovered that both the original petition and a subsequent letter withdrawing the complaint bore a forged Nigerian Bar Association seal. Further checks revealed that the Supreme Court enrolment number on the seal belonged to another lawyer.

The anti-graft agency said Anoruo, who operated a legal and educational consultancy in the Ikorodu area of Lagos, was arrested on April 20, 2026, following investigations into allegations that he falsely presented himself as a qualified legal practitioner.

During the investigation, Anoruo admitted that although he obtained 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. He also confessed to obtaining the counterfeit NBA seal from an undisclosed business centre in Lagos.

The prosecution presented evidence showing that the defendant earned about ₦7.5 million from the legal brief linked to the case. Investigators told the court that he paid ₦1.5 million to a qualified lawyer to handle the matter while continuing to present himself to clients and authorities as a legal practitioner.

An EFCC investigator also testified that Anoruo appeared at the commission’s office dressed in a lawyer’s robe when he honoured an invitation. A subsequent search of his residence led to the recovery of the forged NBA seal, legal attire and other exhibits tendered during the trial.

In his plea for leniency, the defendant described himself as a first-time offender and asked the court for mercy, citing his responsibilities as the breadwinner of a family with a wife and five children. However, the court upheld his guilty plea, convicted him on both counts and ordered the confiscation of the counterfeit legal materials.

The conviction is expected to reinforce ongoing efforts by the EFCC and legal authorities to clamp down on impersonation and other fraudulent practices capable of undermining public confidence in Nigeria’s legal profession.