A suspected fake lawyer, Godwin Eguabor, was arrested in Lagos on Wednesday after he appeared in a magistrate court in the Badagry area, claiming to represent a client.
His arrest followed an alert raised by a local lawyer who grew suspicious of his credentials.
Eguabor reportedly stood before the magistrate court in Badagry, presenting himself as legal counsel for a client. However, Atule Elchors, the vice-chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Badagry, had been hearing rumors about a fake lawyer operating in the area.
When Eguabor made his appearance, Elchors stood up in court and challenged his credentials, stating that he was not a licensed legal practitioner.
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“I stood up and informed the court that the person before the magistrate was not a lawyer,” Elchors said.
“We’ve been keeping an eye out for him.” Elchors demanded that Eguabor provide his Supreme Court enrollment number, a unique identification for all accredited lawyers, but Eguabor failed to do so and gave inconsistent explanations.
The situation worsened when Elchors discovered that the name Eguabor used in court did not match the name he had provided to the police upon his arrest.
The police acted swiftly, taking Eguabor into custody. On Thursday, he was brought before the magistrate court and charged with impersonating a lawyer, in violation of section 380 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
During the court hearing, prosecutor Edet Ekpo outlined the charges, while Magistrate L.A. Layeni granted Eguabor bail set at N1 million, with two sureties of equal value. One surety must be a managing director of a company, with proof of a year-long bank statement.
Additionally, Layeni ordered the sureties to deposit N25,000 into the account of the Ikeja high court registrar.
The case was adjourned until February 19 for further proceedings.
