LAGOS, Nigeria – A suspected fake lawyer, identified as Godwin Eguabor, has been arrested while representing a client in a magistrate court in the Badagry area of Lagos State.
Eguabor’s arrest unfolded during a court session on Wednesday after Atule Elchors, vice-chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Badagry branch, raised concerns about his legitimacy.
Speaking in court, Elchors revealed that rumours had been circulating about an individual posing as a lawyer in Badagry.
“I stood up and told the court that the person who appeared before the magistrate is not a legal practitioner,” Elchors said, as reported by NAN.
Elchors further explained that Eguabor failed to provide a Supreme Court number, the unique enrollment number assigned to licensed legal practitioners in Nigeria.
“We asked for his Supreme Court number, but he could not answer; he was just telling us stories,” he said.
Adding to the suspicion, Elchors noted:
“The worst thing is that the name he is using in court is different from the name he gave the police when they came to arrest him.”
Police charge suspected fake lawyer
The police charged Eguabor on Thursday with impersonating a lawyer, an offense under Section 380 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
Edet Ekpo, the prosecutor, informed the court of the charges, leading Magistrate L. A. Layeni to grant bail to the defendant.
The bail conditions included a sum of N1 million with two sureties in like sum. One of the sureties must be a company managing director and present a one-year statement of the company’s account. Additionally, the sureties were required to deposit N25,000 into the account of the Ikeja High Court registrar.
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The court adjourned the case to February 19 for further hearing.
Court jails fake Anambra lawyer
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that Justice Okechukwu Onunkwo of the Anambra State High Court in Otuocha, Anambra East Local Government Area, had sentenced Obinna Oraezue to 90 days in prison for falsely representing himself as a lawyer.
Oraezue was sent to the Onitsha Correctional Centre with hard labour for contempt of court after being apprehended at the Otuocha High Court a few weeks earlier.