Four operators of commercial computer centres have been placed under detention at the Nigeria Correctional Service facility in Aba by Chief Magistrates’ Court 1, which is located in the Aba South Local Government Area of Abia State.
The court, which was presided over by His Worship Erinma Maduagwu, arraigned the accused Onuoha Ikechukwu (40), Daniel Lawrence (27), Odinaka Onyeforo (37), and Ndukwe Chukwu (50) on three counts of conspiracy, impersonation, and forgery of a Power of Attorney, an act reserved for licensed attorneys.
The charge sheet states that the suspects had been engaged in illegal activity for years and operated at Nos. 2F and 2J Pound Road Extension, Aba, close to the court. Onuoha Ikechukwu, the initial defendant, was found in possession of more than 70 falsified Powers of Attorney that had the names of both living and deceased lawyers.
The defendants, who were frequently hired by solicitors to make legal papers, are accused of stealing letterheads from solicitors and, along with other syndicates that are now at large, creating unlawful documents for unwary customers using the seals and stamps of former solicitors.
According to prosecutor Uzoamaka Emmanuel, their activities were in violation of Sections 516A(a), 484, and 465 of the Criminal Code Cap 80 Vol. III Laws of Abia State of Nigeria 2005, and they were subject to punishment under Section 467(1)(b).
According to counts two and three, the defendants prepared Deeds of Power of Attorney using stolen letterheads and the names of solicitors, including Mr Izuchukwu Onyeoma and one Van Abakwuo, in order to fraudulently represent themselves as licensed surveyors and solicitors.
According to the charge sheet, the offenders also falsified several Power of Attorney forms utilising fraudulent details and legal representation.
“Other Deeds of Power of Attorney purportedly executed by you for yet-to-be-identified persons as listed on the face of the said Deeds; so many cover pages of Power of Attorney signed by Joshua Onyekachi Emele ESQ without the name of any Donor and Donee.
“One Power of Attorney between Mr. Awa Agwu, Robert Nworo, and Onyegu Ifeanyi and other legal documents respectively, a representation you know to be false, thereby committing an offence punishable under section 484 of the Criminal Code Cap 80 Vol. III Laws of Abia State of Nigeria 2005.
“That you, Onuoha Ikechukwu ‘M’, Daniel Lawrence ‘M’, Odinakachi Onyeforo ‘M’, Ndukwe Chukwu ‘M’, and others now at large on or before the 9th day of October 2024, at Nos: 2F, 2J Pound Road Extension, Aba, in the Aba South Magisterial District, did forge and sell legal documents to members of the public, purporting the same to have been properly prepared by a solicitor/Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, thereby committing an offence contrary to section 465, punishable under section 467(1)(b) of the Criminal Code Cap 80 Vol. III Laws of Abia State of Nigeria 2005,” the charge sheet stated.
Under the counsel of their solicitors, the defendants entered a not guilty plea to the allegations. The trial magistrate ordered their custody to the Aba Correctional Service prison and postponed the case until Friday, October 25 to evaluate their bail application.
“These perpetrators have truly dealt with us (lawyers),” said Charles Oluchukwu, the chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association’s Aba branch, who escorted other solicitors to the court. According to a resolution passed by the Bar, those who are caught should face legal action, and some of our colleagues who assist them in signing those documents should be reported to the Abuja-based Legal Practitioners’ Disciplinary Committee for prosecution, which could result in the suspension of their licenses.
Oluchukwu added, “The mandate has been given to me to clamp down on them through a five-man committee called the Anti-Fake Lawyers and Car Stickers Committee, headed by Uchenna Ejiogu.
“The public should desist from patronising these quacks because most of the Powers of Attorney they purportedly prepare are defective. We shall begin prosecuting those who patronise them.
“Our advice to these computer operators is that they should desist from conniving with quacks to prepare legal documents. We will not spare anyone involved.”