The Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has convicted a 55-year-old man, John Nwawuto Anoruo for impersonating a legal practitioner and using a forged seal of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
Penpushing reports that Justice Abdulfattah Molawale Lawal delivered the judgment on Tuesday after Anoruo pleaded guilty to a two-count charge brought against him by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The court convicted Anoruo on charges bordering on impersonation and the fraudulent use of a counterfeit NBA seal, and equally imposed a fine of ₦120,000 on the first count and ₦150,000 on the second count, bringing the total fine to ₦270,000, payable to the Lagos State Judiciary.
Penpushing further reports that the judge in same vein ordered the forfeiture of the forged Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) seal and the legal practitioner’s attire recovered from the defendant to the Nigerian Government through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The agency said Anoruo, who operates a legal and educational consultancy in the Ikorodu area of Lagos, came under investigation after submitting a petition dated September 22, 2025, to the anti-graft agency on behalf of his clients, alleging misconduct by the management of Global West Vessel Specialist Nigeria Limited.
Penpushing also reports that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) later discovered that the petition and a subsequent letter withdrawing the complaint, dated March 5, 2026, bore a forged Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) seal.
The commission said its investigations revealed that the Supreme Court enrolment number on the seal belonged to another legal practitioner, hence, Anoruo was arrested on April 20,2026.
Penpushing reports that the convict during the investigation, admitted obtaining the counterfeit Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) seal from an undisclosed business centre in Lagos, claiming that although he obtained a law degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 2018 through evening classes, he never attended the Nigerian Law School and was never called to the Nigerian Bar.
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