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From Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki
Ugwumba Francis Enyinnaya has been practicing as a lawyer for over 10 years and winning caes untill recently when he was arrested by the police, arraigned, and remanded at the Abakaliki Correctional Centre for alleged impersonation and other activities the security agencies viewed as criminal.
The 33-year-old man was accused of impersonating as a legal practitioner and parading himself as a barrister and solicitor for over a decade.
Spokesperson of the Ebonyi State Police Command, SP Joshua Ukandu, said Ugwumba’s arrest followed a discreet investigation by operatives of the command after a petition bordering on obtaining money by false pretence was received against him.
He said the suspect, according to the petition, allegedly collected the sum of N650,000 from one Chukwu David in March 2026, to facilitate the processing and approval for the naming of a street in Ohaozara Local Government Area.
“The petitioner alleged that the suspect presented himself as a lawyer with years of legal experience. Following the suspect’s arrest, investigations revealed that he had been falsely parading himself as a legal practitioner. During interrogation, the suspect admitted that he was not a lawyer.
“A search of his apartment led to the recovery of several exhibits, including a Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) seal; a portrait of the suspect dressed in barrister’s regalia; purported Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) and Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree certificates for the suspect bearing the name of Enugu State University of Science and Technology; a barrister’s robe and wig; judgements allegedly procured from the court and various legal documents allegedly prepared by him, including powers of attorney and deeds of conveyance.
“The Commissioner of Police, Ebonyi State Command, CP Hope Urunwa, commended the operatives for their diligence in uncovering the impersonation and urged members of the public to verify the credentials of individuals offering legal services and to report suspicious activities”, Ukandu said.
The Chairman, Anti-Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Quackery Committee in the state, Ekigbo Sampson, said the association has been looking for Ugwumba for years for impersonating as a lawyer when he is not.
“This young man is not a lawyer. He had, for years, appeared in courts; High Courts, Customary Courts, Courts of Appeal, and Magistrate Courts. He has done prosecutions.
“We got wind of it because our NBA stamp and seal has some security details that only lawyers know. In one occasion, we saw a process he filed with a red seal, and red seal is for those in the Bench. It is for those in employment, not every person will have red seal, and he doesn’t know this because he is not a legal practitioner.
“He forged a red seal and efforts to arrest him failed and that was five years ago, and he went incommunicado. He was doing like a spirit. He has written many land documents. He was arrested last week. Upon his arrest, we applied to court for search warrant to be able to search his residence and recover the infringing materials.
“He really dribbled us and took us to three different homes. The fourth one is where we later got the shock of our lives. We got a wig and gown, beep, barrister’s white and coolers belonging to him.
“We also got a full big portrait frame with his picture adorn in NBA regalia. We also got forged judgment of Obiozara High Court. We know that it is forged because the signature of the Judge is different from what is signed there..
“We also got a forged document purportedly having him as a law graduate from Enugu State University of Science and Technology. And if you look at it, it is irregular. We also got document purportedly making him a Master’s holder in Law and other documents that were also forged.
“The young guy has really put this profession into disrepute and as the chairman of the anti-quackery committee, I will not fold my hands and allow it. He has duped many persons in pretences of being a legal practitioner”, Ekigbo said.
Meanwhile, the command, last Tuesday, arraigned the suspect before the Abakaliki Magistrate Court over impersonation, forgery, and obtaining money by false pretence.
Mrs Lilian Anya, Principal Sate Counsel, Ministry of Justice, told the court that the defendant committed the offence between March and October 2026, at Ohaozara Local Government Area of the state.
“The defendant also committed the offence in other parts of the Abakaliki Magisterial District,” Anya added.
She explained that Oje conspired with others still at large to commit felony, including impersonation, forgery, and obtaining money by false pretence.
“The offences are contrary to Section 516A(a) of the Criminal Code, Cap. 33, Volume One, Laws of Ebonyi State of Nigeria, 2009.
“He also represented himself as a legal practitioner by allegedly appearing in a wig and gown with a bib, knowing that he was not qualified to practice law,” she explained.
Anya noted that the offence is punishable under Section 484 of the Criminal Code, Cap. 33, Volume One, Laws of Ebonyi State, 2009.
“The defendant also forged a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree certificate, Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree certificate, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) seal and court documents, which the police alleged were fake. He, therefore, obtained N650,000 from one David Onu under the pretence of registering a street name and constructing a road to his compound.
“The money was obtained through false representation, an offence punishable under Section 419 of the Criminal Code, Cap. 33, Volume One, Laws of Ebonyi State, 2009.
The Defence Counsel, Sunday Eleke, applied for bail in a most legal term and promised that the defendant would not jump bail.
“It is constitutional rights to grant him bail and the defendant is still presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction,” Eleke added.
The Chief Magistrate, Hosea Akata, noted that the issue of bail was not constitutional right and ordered that the suspect be remanded at the Abakaliki Correctional Centre.
