Court sentences fake lawyer to three years imprisonment in Rivers

A Magistrates’ Court in Choba, Rivers State, on Monday sentenced
a fake lawyer identified as Sunday Ejiofor to three years in
prison.

Ejiofor, who was also accused of defrauding a commercial
motorcyclist, had pleaded guilty to only one charge, which was read
before him in court.

The Chief Magistrate, Mr. Israel Agbeso, said he convicted the
accused person for only three years because he (Ejiofor) did not
inconvenience the court during the trial, adding that the sentence
was without any option of fine.

He said, “The defendant, having pleaded guilty, is hereby
convicted. He is convicted on lone charge. Having considered the
defendant’s act of not inconveniencing the court, he is hereby
sentenced to three years in prison without option.”

It was learnt that the convict (Ejiofor) had during his escapade
as a fake lawyer hired a commercial motorcyclist, Wisdom Phillip,
to convey him to different places, but failed to pay the
motorcyclist the sum of N15,000 they both agreed for the three days
service rendered.

The charge marked OZMC/115c/2019, “That you, Ejiofor Sunday, on
the 25th of March 2019, along Aluu road, falsely represented
yourself by action as a legal practitioner.”

But Ejiofor had begged the court for mercy immediately he
pleaded guilty to the single charge read to him.

However, the prosecutor, Tom Ledornun; an Assistant
Superintendent of Police, had told the court that the convict had
shown the commercial motorcyclist an identification card bearing
his (Ejiofor) passport photograph, which indicated that he was a
lawyer.

“The defendant had engaged the services of a motorcyclist at the
cost of N5,000 per day. The driver carried him (defendant) for
three days, amounting to N15,000.

“The driver demanded his money after the service was rendered,
but the defendant represented himself to be a legal practitioner
and threatened to hand over the driver to police. He displayed an
identity card bearing his image wearing lawyer’s wig.

“Passersby became interested and took both of them to the
police. Police requested him to identify himself with his seal
number and the year he was called to bar, but he could not,” the
prosecutor said.

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