By Akinwale Kasali
The long arm of the law has caught up with 38-year-old Ifeanyi Christian Igwe. For 10 years, he allegedly paraded himself as a legal practitioner in Abia State.
But recently, his luck ran out. He was caught, arrested and arraigned before a Magistrate Court and sentenced to one year imprisonment with an option of fine.
Igwe, reportedly, a son of a traditional ruler, the Okpi of Item, a First Class Traditional Ruler in Abia State, had sowed his fraudulent seed from Umuahia to Aba.
In Aba, however, his cup ran over when he was arrested by the Anti-Fake Lawyers Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Aba Branch, and handed over to the Police at the Area Command.
Following his arrest, he was subsequently charged before a Magistrate Court sitting in the Aba South Magisterial District, in Charge No. MAS/2H4C/2026 between the Commissioner of Police versus Ifeanyi Christian Igwe.
His Worship, Mrs. Erinma Maduagwu, Magistrate of the Aba South Magisterial District who sat over the case, sentenced him to one year imprisonment with an option of fine.
According to the charge sheet signed by U.E. Emmanuel Esq., Legal Officer, Area Command Aba, for the Commissioner of Police, Abia State, the suspect committed the offence on 15th day of September, 2026 at Magistrate Court 4 Aba South.
The prosecution stated that Ifeanyi Christian Igwe with intent to defraud and deceive the general public, falsely represented himself to be a Legal Practitioner by appearing with the name I.C Igwe Esq. in Charge No: MAS/183C/2025 between the Commissioner of Police vs. Chinedu Chukwu and cross-examined PW2 Okechukwu Agwu in the case.
The offence was said to be punishable under Section 484 of the Criminal Code Cap 80 Vol. III Laws of Abia State of Nigeria 2005.
Igwe was arraigned on 18th September, 2026, before the Chief Magistrate’s Court, Aba South presided over by Mrs. Erinma Maduagwu, where he pleaded guilty to the charge.
The court, after his guilty plea, sentenced him to one year imprisonment with an option of N500,000 fine.
The impersonator had practised in Umuahia for over one decade undetected before he was apprehended by the NBA Aba Branch during its operation against fake lawyers operating within Abia State.
The NBA Aba Branch was said to have launched Operation Nkpọchapụ to fish out fake lawyers tarnishing the image of the legal profession in the state.
Members of the Bar have commended the NBA Aba Branch for the feat, noting that the activities of fake lawyers pose serious threat to justice delivery and the integrity of the legal profession. However, not a few people are of the opinion that a one-year imprisonment or a N500,000 option of fine is like a slap on the wrist.
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