EFCC: Court Fines Fake Lawyer ₦270,000 For Impersonation, Forged NBA Seal
A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has convicted and fined a 55-year-old man, John Nwawuto Anoruo, for impersonating a legal practitioner and using a forged Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) seal.
Justice A.M. Lawal sentenced Anoruo to a total fine of ₦270,000 on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, after he pleaded guilty to two charges brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The court imposed a fine of ₦120,000 on the first count and ₦150,000 on the second count.
Anoruo, 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 his clients against the management of Global West Vessel Specialist Nigeria Limited.
According to the EFCC, investigations revealed that the petition and a subsequent letter of withdrawal dated March 5, 2026, bore a forged NBA seal.
The defendant reportedly admitted obtaining the counterfeit seal from an undisclosed business centre in Lagos.
During investigations, Anoruo claimed that he obtained a law degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 2018 through evening classes. However, he admitted that he did not attend the Nigerian Law School and was never called to the Nigerian Bar.
The case was further investigated after the EFCC received a petition from a legal practitioner, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, on April 15, 2026. The petitioner alleged that Anoruo had submitted a petition against him and his law firm while falsely presenting himself as a qualified lawyer.
Testifying in court, EFCC investigating officer Umar Faruk Ahmad said investigations established that the Supreme Court enrolment number on the forged NBA seal belonged to another legal practitioner.
Ahmad also told the court that Anoruo earned ₦7.5 million from the legal brief in question, out of which he paid ₦1.5 million to a qualified lawyer to handle the matter.
The investigating officer further disclosed that Anoruo appeared at the EFCC office wearing legal practitioners’ attire when he honoured the Commission’s invitation.
A subsequent search of his residence reportedly led to the recovery of the counterfeit NBA seal bearing another lawyer’s Supreme Court enrolment number.
The prosecution tendered several exhibits, including the forged seal, legal practitioners’ attire, the defendant’s extra-judicial statement, correspondence with the Body of Benchers and the Supreme Court of Nigeria, and a ₦300,000 bank draft paid into the EFCC’s recovery account.
Defence counsel G.E. Demkemefa did not object to the admissibility of the exhibits, which the court admitted and marked as Exhibits 1 to 9.
During his plea for leniency, the defence counsel described Anoruo as a first-time offender and the breadwinner of a family comprising his wife and five children. He urged the court to impose a fine instead of a custodial sentence.
The prosecution counsel, Saadatu Mahmud Yabo, had urged the court to convict and sentence the defendant in line with his guilty plea. She also requested that the exhibits be forfeited to the Federal Government.
In his judgment, Justice Lawal convicted Anoruo on both counts.
The court subsequently ordered him to pay ₦270,000 in fines to the Lagos State Judiciary.
It also ordered the forfeiture of the legal practitioners’ attire and the forged NBA seal recovered from the defendant to the Federal Government of Nigeria through the EFCC.
