By Joshua Tosin Ogunsakin 
One Oruhu Odey, on Wednesday, appeared before an Osogbo Magistrate Court for allegedly obtaining a sum of N18.5m from a businessman and for forging the seal of the Nigerian Bar Association with the intention to perpetrate fraud.
Odey, who had no legal representation, was arraigned by the police on counts of impersonation, fraud, stealing, and forgery.
Addressing the court, the prosecutor, Saheed Anifowose, explained that between December 15, 2020, and May 9, 2021, Odey falsely paraded himself as a lawyer to deceive an unsuspecting member of the public into purchasing two houses at Oroki Estate, Osogbo.
The prosecutor further said the defendant, pretending to be a lawyer, fraudulently obtained a sum of N18.5m from the victim, under the pretence that he was helping him to buy the houses.
He also accused Odey of forging the NBA stamp and seal, and affixing them to a petition he sent to the Ogun State Commissioner of Police.
He added that “the offences committed by the defendant were contrary to Section 109 of the Criminal Code, Cap 34, Volume 2, Laws of Osun State, Section 419 of the Criminal Code and Section 383 and punishable under Section 390(9) of the Criminal Code, Laws of Osun State.”
After listening to his charge, the defendant pleaded not guilty to the four counts pressed against him.
In his ruling, the Presiding Magistrate, Dr. Segun Ayilara, adjourned the case till October 21 for mention and subsequently remanded the defendant in Ilesa Correctional Centre.
Cases of fake lawyers parading themselves in courts and legal transactions have become a recurring problem in the country.
The NBA had, in recent years, raised the alarm over the rising cases of impostors forging its official seals to defraud unsuspecting members of the public. As a result, in 2021, it introduced additional security features on its seal to curb forgery.
Newsmen reported in August that the Zone XI Police Headquarters arrested a suspected fake lawyer identified as Emmanuel Odeh, parading himself as a qualified attorney for almost 10 years mostly in Lagos and Abuja.
Odeh had been allegedly duping unsuspecting Nigerians under the guise of legal representation, estate agency, and public consultancy.