A Chief Magistrates’ Court 1, sitting in Aba South Local Government Area of Abia State, has ordered the remand of four persons who have been operating computer shops in the state at the Nigeria Correctional Service facility in Aba.
The identity of the accused persons were disclosed as Onuoha Ikechukwu (40), Daniel Lawrence (27), Odinaka Onyeforo (37), and Ndukwe Chukwu (50), it was discsoed that they were brouhj=t before the court which was overseen by His Worship Erinma Maduagwu, Three count charges of conspiracy, impersonation, and forgery of a Power of Attorney, were brought before them.
The charge sheet disclosed that the individuals who run their businesses at Nos. 2F and 2J Pound Road Extension, Aba, near the court, have been alleged to be in the activities charged for years. The first accused person, Onuoha Ikechukwu, was seen with over 70 forged Powers of Attorney, bearing the names of both living and deceased lawyers.
The suspects were patronised by lawyers for legal document preparation. According to them, they had gotten hold of the letterheads of lawyers and had been using them to prepare a letter for individuals at their convenience; the act stated that they had been committed by the suspect and others who had taken to their hills.
In the other counts brought before the suspects, the defendants were accused of falsely presenting themselves as licensed surveyors and legal practitioners through the preparation of Deeds of Power of Attorney, which was carried out using letterheads and the names of lawyers, including one Van Abakwuo and Mr Izuchukwu Onyeoma.
The charge sheet also revealed that the suspects forged numerous Power of Attorney documents using fraudulent details and legal representation.
It was noted that 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.
The charge sheet also stated that one Power of Attorney between Mr Awa Agwu, Robert Nworo, and Onyegu Ifeanyi and other legal documents, respectively, The prosecutor noted that the representation had been known 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.
The charge sheet stated that 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, had forged 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 defendants, through their lawyers, had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The magistrate who is in charge of the trial had adjourned the case till Friday, October 25th, when the bail application will be considered. The magistrate further ordered the remand of the suspects at the Aba Correctional Service facility.
While speaking on the case, the Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Aba branch, Charles Oluchukwu, who was the leader of the delegation of lawyers who were in court, stated that the accused persons had in the past dealt with the lawyers, which led the bar to pass a resolution for the individuals to be prosecuted in court. He noted that the bar had also resolved that the lawyers adding the activities in caught will also be prosecuted in court or reported to the Legal Practitioners’ Disciplinary Committee in Abuja for prosecution, which may lead to the withdrawal of their licences.
He noted that the bar has been mandated a five-man committee to arrest all individuals associated with all cases of forgery. He noted that the committee was called the Anti-Fake Lawyers and Car Stickers Committee, which is led by Uchenna Ejiogu.
He called on the public to stay away from dealing with the quacks, explaining that most of the Powers of Attorney they purportedly prepare are defective.
