A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has convicted and fined a man, John Nwawuto Anoruo, for impersonating a legal practitioner and using 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 filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The 55-year-old, who operates a legal and educational consultancy in Ikorodu, Lagos, was arrested by EFCC operatives on April 20, 2026, following investigations into a petition he submitted to the Commission on behalf of clients against Global West Vessel Specialist Nigeria Limited.
According to the EFCC, the petition and a subsequent withdrawal letter were found to bear a counterfeit NBA seal, which Anoruo admitted obtaining from a business centre in Lagos.
Investigations further revealed that although Anoruo claimed to have earned a law degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 2018, he never attended the Nigerian Law School and was not called to the Nigerian Bar.
During the trial, EFCC investigating officer Umar Faruk Ahmad told the court that the Supreme Court enrolment number on the NBA seal belonged to another legal practitioner.
He also testified that Anoruo earned ₦7.5 million from the legal brief, out of which he paid ₦1.5 million to a qualified lawyer to handle the matter on his behalf.
The prosecution tendered several exhibits, including the forged NBA seal, legal practitioner’s attire recovered from the defendant, his extra-judicial statement, correspondence with the Body of Benchers and the Supreme Court of Nigeria, and evidence of a ₦300,000 bank draft paid into the EFCC recovery account.
Following the defendant’s guilty plea and the presentation of evidence, Justice Lawal convicted him on both counts.
The court imposed a fine of ₦120,000 for the first count and ₦150,000 for the second count, bringing the total fine to ₦270,000.
Justice Lawal also ordered the forfeiture of the legal practitioner’s attire and the forged NBA seal recovered from the defendant to the Federal Government through the EFCC.
The defence had urged the court to impose a non-custodial sentence, describing Anoruo as a first-time offender and the breadwinner of a family of seven. The court subsequently imposed fines instead of a prison term.
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