Court Convicts Fake Lawyer Over Forged NBA Seal

Further investigations revealed that the Supreme Court enrolment number on the forged NBA seal belonged to another legal practitioner.

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 convicted Anoruo on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to two counts bordering on impersonation and the fraudulent use of a counterfeit NBA seal.

Anoruo, who operated a legal and educational consultancy in Ikorodu, Lagos, was arrested by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on April 20, 2026.

According to the EFCC, the investigation began after Anoruo submitted a petition on behalf of clients against Global West Vessel Specialist Nigeria Limited. The agency later discovered that the petition, as well as a subsequent letter withdrawing it, bore a forged NBA seal.

Investigators said Anoruo admitted obtaining the counterfeit seal from a business centre in Lagos. He also claimed to have earned a law degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 2018 through evening classes but confessed that he never attended the Nigerian Law School and was not qualified to practise law in Nigeria.

Further investigations revealed that the Supreme Court enrolment number on the forged NBA seal belonged to another legal practitioner.

Testifying before the court, EFCC investigating officer Umar Faruk Ahmad said the Commission received a petition from lawyer Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, who alleged that Anoruo had falsely presented himself as a legal practitioner while filing petitions against him and his law firm.

The witness told the court that Anoruo received ₦7.5 million from a legal brief but paid ₦1.5 million to a qualified lawyer to handle the matter on his behalf. He also disclosed that Anoruo appeared at the EFCC office dressed in legal robes when he honoured the Commission's invitation.

A search of the defendant's residence led to the recovery of the forged NBA seal bearing another lawyer's enrolment number.

The prosecution tendered several exhibits, including the forged seal, legal practitioner's attire, the petition, the defendant's extra-judicial statement, correspondence with the Body of Benchers and the Supreme Court, and evidence of a ₦300,000 bank draft paid into the EFCC's recovery account. The exhibits were admitted without objection.

In his allocutus, Anoruo appealed for leniency, stating that he paid ₦2.5 million to secure the legal brief and another ₦1.5 million to the lawyer who handled the case. His counsel urged the court to impose a fine, describing him as a first-time offender and the sole breadwinner of his family.

Delivering judgment, Justice Lawal convicted Anoruo on both counts and imposed fines of ₦120,000 and ₦150,000, bringing the total penalty to ₦270,000, payable to the Lagos State Judiciary.

The court also ordered the forfeiture of the counterfeit NBA seal and the legal attire recovered from the defendant to the Federal Government through the EFCC.