A 55-year-old man, John Nwawuto Anoruo, has been convicted by the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja for impersonating a legal practitioner and using a forged Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) seal.
Justice Abdulfattah Molawale 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 court imposed fines totalling ₦270,000 for the offences and ordered that the counterfeit NBA seal and legal attire recovered from the defendant be forfeited to the Federal Government through the anti-graft agency.
According to the EFCC, the case began after Anoruo, who runs a legal and educational consultancy in Ikorodu, Lagos, submitted a petition on behalf of clients alleging misconduct against a company. Investigators later discovered that both the petition and a subsequent withdrawal letter carried a forged NBA seal bearing the Supreme Court enrolment number of another lawyer.
The commission said Anoruo was arrested on April 20, 2026, and admitted during investigation that he obtained the fake NBA seal from a business centre in Lagos. He also confessed that although he earned a law degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) in 2018, he never attended the Nigerian Law School and was never called to the Nigerian Bar.
During the trial, EFCC investigating officer Umar Faruk Ahmad told the court that the commission launched its investigation after receiving a petition from lawyer Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, who alleged that Anoruo falsely presented himself as a qualified legal practitioner while filing legal documents against him and his law firm.
The witness further testified that the defendant earned ₦7.5 million from the legal brief that led to the investigation and paid ₦1.5 million to a qualified lawyer to handle aspects of the matter. He added that Anoruo appeared at the EFCC office dressed in a lawyer’s robe, while a search of his residence uncovered the forged NBA seal bearing another lawyer’s enrolment number.
After pleading guilty, the defence urged the court to temper justice with mercy, describing Anoruo as a first-time offender who cooperated with investigators and is responsible for supporting his wife and five children. The prosecution, however, asked the court to convict him in line with his guilty plea.
Justice Lawal subsequently convicted Anoruo on both counts, imposing a ₦120,000 fine for impersonation and ₦150,000 for fraudulently using the forged NBA seal. The judge also ordered the forfeiture of the counterfeit seal and legal practitioner’s attire to the Federal Government through the EFCC.
