The Anti-Fake Lawyers Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Aba Branch, has secured the conviction of an individual accused of impersonating a legal practitioner after he was found guilty of falsely presenting himself as a lawyer before a Magistrate Court in Aba, Abia State.
The 38 years old convict, identified in the charge as Ifeanyi Christian Igwe, pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to one year imprisonment with an option of N500,000 fine.
The case, marked Charge No. MAS/214C/2026, was prosecuted by the Commissioner of Police, Abia State, at the Aba South Magistrate Court, over an alleged incident in which Igwe represented himself as a legal practitioner using the name I.C. Igwe, Esq
According to the charge sheet filed by the Prosecutor, U.E. Emmanuel, Esq., Igwe, on 15th September, 2026, at Magistrate Court 4, Aba South, allegedly appeared in Charge No. MAS/183C/2025, between the Commissioner of Police and Chinedu Chukwu and cross-examined a prosecution witness, Okechukwu Agwu, while allegedly holding himself out as a legal practitioner.
In the charge, the police accused Igwe of intending to defraud or deceive the general public by falsely representing himself as a legal practitioner, an offence stated to be punishable under Section 484 of the Criminal Code, Cap. 80, Vol. III, Laws of Abia State of Nigeria 2005.
According to the NBA Aba Branch Anti-Fake Lawyers Committee, the case represents a significant breakthrough in its campaign against the unauthorised practice of law. The committee alleged that Igwe has been practising law in Umuahia for more than 10 years, operating from a chamber associated with a former chairman of the Anti-Fake Lawyers Committee of the NBA Umuahia Branch.
The committee further alleged that he had held positions in various committees of the NBA Umuahia Branch. His alleged long-standing presence within legal circles, according to the Aba Branch committee, made the case particularly significant in its ongoing efforts to identify and prosecute persons unlawfully holding themselves out as legal practitioners.
It was gathered that the Chairman of the Anti-Fake Lawyers Committee, Uchenna Ejiogu, is considering appeal to challenge aspects of the sentence, particularly the option of fine attached to the one-year imprisonment. The committee’s position is that the sentence, especially the option of a N500,000 fine, requires further consideration.
