BREAKING: Court Sentences ‘Fake Lawyer’ To 3 Months Imprisonment With Hard Labour in Anambra

The Anambra State High Court sitting in Otuocha, on Thursday sentenced one ‘fake lawyer’, Obinna Oraezue, to three months imprisonment at Onitsha Correctional Centre; with hard labour, for contempt of court.

The court also referred the case of M.T Olisaeke Law firm that hired the contemptor as a “junior lawyer” without proper checks to Onitsha branch of the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, for investigation and disciplinary actions.
The contemptor dressed in full regalia of a legal practitioner, had on 13th of June 2024 made appearance in the court for a litigant in a land matter, but could not refer to the basic tenets of the profession.
This raised suspicions among lawyers in the court; including the judge, leading to his interrogation and subsequent arrest.
Upon interrogation by the presiding judge, Justice Okechukwu Onunkwo, during his arraignment, the contemptor confessed that he studied Political Science at the university; not Law, but that he has passion for legal practice.
He further explained that he had just spent about a month in the law firm that hired him, and that he has never represented anyone in any of the Nigerian courts in the past.
Pleading for forgiveness and leniency of the court, Oraezue noted that it was the economic hardship in the country that pushed him into the act; after he had worked as a contract staff with Onitsha South Local Goverment, adding that he has five children and unemployed wife to take care of.
In his judgment, Justice Onunkwo slammed the contemptor with three-month sentence; with hard labour, with effect from 13th June, 2024 when he was arrested.
He said the sentence was mild because the court considered the contemptor’s pleas, adding, however, that the sentence should serve as a deterrent to others who may wish to indulge in such ignoble act.
Speaking on the matter after the judgment, a legal practitioner, Uzochukwu Ozumba, said the court was lenient enough because the contemptor had shown remorse, and advised others who may wish to toe such path to run away, as the court may not be that lenient in future.