A 47-year-old man, Tajudeen Olufemi Idris, was on October 2, 2020 arrested by men of the Ogun State Police Command for parading himself as a legal practitioner knowing full well he is not.
The spokesman of the Command, Abimbola Oyeyemi, revealed this in a statement on Monday.
Oyeyemi said the suspect was arrested at Magistrate Court 6, Ifo, while appearing before Chief Magistrate I.A. Arogundade in a civil trial between one Ifeanyi Chuckwu and Ayo Itori, where he claimed to be a legal counsel from Tajudeen O. Idris & Co Chamber, representing one of the parties.
His conduct and presentation before the Chief Magistrate aroused suspicion about his qualification as a lawyer and this prompted Arogundade to ask him of the year he was called to the bar, which he claimed to be 2009.
But further enquiry revealed that his name was nowhere to be found amongst those called to bar in 2009, hence police were notified.
Consequently, the DPO, Ifo Division, CSP Adeniyi Adekunle, detailed his operatives to the scene, where the suspect was apprehended.
He is currently undergoing investigation.
Meanwhile, the Command’s Commissioner, Edward Ajogun, has expressed concern about the increase in the number of people impersonating lawyers, thereby swindling people of their hard earned money.
The CP recalled that not less than five cases of fake lawyers have been reported since his assumption of office less than two months ago.
On August 12, 2020, 56-year-old Sylvester Ogbagu was arrested at Sagamu, while parading himself as lawyer.
Another fake lawyer, Adedeji Ebenezer, was apprehended in the Court premises at Itori on August 5 2020, while appearing for a client as a lawyer.
Ebenezer was tried and subsequently sentenced to three years in prison.
Another fake lawyer, Elijah Ayodeji Ojo, was arrested by operatives at Ajuwon Police Station June 28 when he came to solicit for a so-called client who was having a criminal matter with the police.
Likewise one Lawrence Oyedunu was arrested in Sango Ota while presenting himself as a counsel to a suspect.
Ajogun therefore called on the State branch of the Nigeria Bar Association to put necessary machinery in motion to checkmate the activities of these fraudulent people.
He also appealed to those who wish to be lawyers to take a cue from the determined effort of a traditional ruler in the State, the Towulade of Akinale, who at 75 years of age still endeavoured to go to the Law School because of his interest in the legal profession rather than impersonating.