By A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has convicted and sentenced a man, John Nwawuto Anoruo, for impersonating a lawyer and possessing a forged seal of the Nigerian Bar Association.
Justice A.M. Lawal delivered the judgment on Tuesday, following a guilty plea entered by Anoruo, who operates a legal and educational consultancy in the Ikorodu area of Lagos.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said Anoruo was arrested on April 20, 2026, after his case came to light through a petition he had earlier submitted to the Commission on behalf of clients against the management of Global West Vessel Specialist Nigeria Limited. Investigations found that the petition, along with a subsequent letter of withdrawal, bore a forged NBA seal, which Anoruo admitted he obtained from an undisclosed business centre in Lagos.
During investigations, the 55-year-old claimed he obtained a law degree in 2018 from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, through evening classes, but had never attended the Nigerian Law School.
He was arraigned by the EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 on a two-count charge bordering on the use of a counterfeit NBA seal and impersonation, to which he pleaded guilty.
Testifying after the plea, an EFCC investigating officer, Umar Faruk Ahmad, told the court that the Commission received a petition on April 15, 2026, from a legal practitioner, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, alleging that Anoruo had filed a complaint against him and his firm while falsely presenting himself as a lawyer.
Ahmad said investigations showed that the Supreme Court enrolment number on the seal used by Anoruo belonged to another legal practitioner, and that Anoruo confirmed he had never been called to the Nigerian Bar. He said Anoruo earned ₦7.5 million from the legal brief in question, out of which he paid ₦1.5 million to a qualified lawyer to actually handle the matter on his behalf.
The witness further told the court that when Anoruo honoured an EFCC invitation, he arrived at the Commission’s office dressed in legal practitioner’s attire, and that a subsequent search of his residence led to the recovery of the counterfeit seal.
The prosecution tendered nine exhibits, including the petition from Olumide-Fusika, Anoruo’s statement under caution, correspondence between the EFCC and the Body of Benchers and the Supreme Court, the recovered attire and seal, and evidence of a ₦300,000 bank draft Anoruo paid into the EFCC’s recovery account. The defence raised no objection, and the court admitted all nine exhibits.
In his allocutus, Anoruo told the court he had paid ₦2.5 million to the person who introduced him to the legal brief and ₦1.5 million to the lawyer who handled the case. His counsel, G.E. Demkemefa, described him as a first-time offender and the sole breadwinner for his wife and five children, and urged the court to consider a fine rather than a custodial sentence.
Justice Lawal convicted Anoruo on both counts and imposed fines of ₦120,000 on the first count and ₦150,000 on the second, totalling ₦270,000, payable to the Lagos State Judiciary. The court also ordered the forfeiture of the recovered legal attire and forged NBA seal to the Federal Government through the EFCC.
