The Anti-Fake Lawyers Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association, Aba Branch, has secured the conviction of a 38-year-old man, Ifeanyi Christian Igwe, for falsely holding himself out as a legal practitioner and appearing before a Magistrate Court in Aba, Abia State.
Igwe, who pleaded guilty to the charge, was sentenced to one year imprisonment with an option of ₦500,000 fine in Charge No. MAS/214C/2026 before the Aba South Magistrate Court.
The prosecution arose from an incident on September 15, 2026, when Igwe allegedly appeared at Magistrate Court 4, Aba South, in an existing criminal case, Charge No. MAS/183C/2025, Commissioner of Police v. Chinedu Chukwu, and represented himself as a lawyer under the name “I.C. Igwe, Esq.”
According to the charge filed by prosecutor U.E. Emmanuel, Esq., Igwe went beyond merely appearing in court and allegedly cross-examined a prosecution witness, Okechukwu Agwu, while holding himself out as a legal practitioner.
He was accused of falsely representing himself as a lawyer with intent to defraud or deceive members of the public, contrary to and punishable under Section 484 of the Criminal Code, Cap. 80, Vol. III, Laws of Abia State of Nigeria 2005.
Following his guilty plea, the court convicted him and imposed the one-year custodial sentence, with an option of paying a ₦500,000 fine.
The NBA Aba Branch Anti-Fake Lawyers Committee described the conviction as another significant breakthrough in its continuing campaign against persons allegedly engaging in the unauthorised practice of law.
Beyond the particular court appearance that led to his prosecution, however, the committee made further claims about Igwe’s history within the legal community.
According to the committee, Igwe had allegedly practised as a lawyer in Umuahia for more than 10 years, despite not being qualified to practise law.
It further alleged that he operated from a law chamber associated with a former chairman of the Anti-Fake Lawyers Committee of the NBA Umuahia Branch.
The Aba committee also claimed that Igwe had, over the years, held positions in various committees of the NBA Umuahia Branch, making his alleged long-standing involvement in legal circles particularly significant to its investigation.
Those wider claims concerning the length of his alleged practice, his chamber association and participation in NBA Umuahia committees were allegations made by the NBA Aba Anti-Fake Lawyers Committee and were not stated in the report as separate findings made by the court.
The committee said the case underscored the difficulty of detecting individuals who may have embedded themselves within legal circles for extended periods while allegedly lacking the qualification to practise as lawyers.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the NBA Aba Branch Anti-Fake Lawyers Committee, Uchenna Ejiogu, is reportedly considering an appeal against aspects of the sentence.
The committee is particularly concerned about the court granting Igwe the option of a ₦500,000 fine in place of serving the one-year imprisonment.
Its position is that the sentence, particularly the alternative of a fine, deserves further judicial consideration in view of the nature of the offence and the committee’s allegation that the convict had held himself out as a lawyer for more than a decade.
