Justice A.M. Lawal of the 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.
The conviction followed Anoruo’s guilty plea to a two-count charge bordering on the use of a counterfeit NBA seal and impersonation, filed by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
According to a statement issued on Tuesday by the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, Anoruo, who operates a legal and educational consultancy in Ikorodu, Lagos, was arrested by EFCC operatives on April 20, 2026.
The anti-graft agency said the case stemmed from a petition Anoruo submitted to the EFCC on behalf of his clients against the management of Global West Vessel Specialist Nigeria Limited. Investigations later revealed that the petition and a subsequent withdrawal letter carried a forged NBA seal allegedly obtained from a business centre in Lagos.
The EFCC said the 55-year-old admitted obtaining a law degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 2018 through evening classes but disclosed that he never attended the Nigerian Law School.
During the trial, prosecution counsel, Saadatu Mahmud Yabo, called an EFCC investigating officer, Umar Faruk Ahmad, who testified that investigations confirmed the Supreme Court enrolment number on the NBA seal used by the defendant belonged to another legal practitioner.
The witness further told the court that Anoruo admitted he was not called to the Nigerian Bar and had obtained the counterfeit NBA seal from a business centre in Lagos.
The EFCC also disclosed that the defendant earned N7.5 million from the legal brief, out of which he paid N1.5 million to a qualified lawyer to handle the matter on his behalf.
According to the Commission, a search of the defendant’s residence led to the recovery of the forged NBA seal, while he also appeared at the EFCC office wearing a legal practitioner’s attire.
The prosecution tendered several exhibits, including the petition, the defendant’s extra-judicial statement, investigation reports, responses from the Body of Benchers and the Supreme Court of Nigeria, the recovered legal attire, the forged NBA seal and evidence of a N300,000 bank draft paid into the EFCC recovery account. The defence raised no objection, and the court admitted the exhibits.
In his judgment, Justice Lawal convicted Anoruo on the two counts.
The court subsequently fined him 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.
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.