A fake lawyer who has been fraudulently practising for years in the Supreme Court has been apprehended by the police.
Mr. Peter Adogun
A man identified as Mr. Peter Adogun, has been arrested by the
police in Kwara State for alleged impersonation and use of forged
documents to practise as lawyer.
According to Punch Metro, the First Information Report obtained
revealed that on November 28, 2016, at about 5.20pm, one Oyetunji
reported that the Nigeria Bar Association received complaints from some
individuals alleging that one Mr. I. T. David, who practised as a legal
practitioner in the state was not an authentic lawyer.
It added that Adogun was apprehended by the police while appearing
as a legal practitioner before the Area Court 1, Ilorin, and was
subsequently transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and
Intelligence Department for a discreet investigation.
The FIR said investigation conducted by the SCIID revealed the real
name of the suspect as Peter Adogun and not Inufin Taiwo David, whom he
impersonated.
The report further stated that photocopies of certificates of
Inufin Taiwo David presented by the accused as his own were credentials
the suspect allegedly deceitfully collected from a lawyer by the name
who practised in Abuja.
He allegedly collected the documents on the pretext of assisting the original owner in securing employment in an oil company.
The FIR said, “It was further revealed that Adogun practised
and appeared in several matters in all levels of Nigerian courts up to
the Supreme Court with the adopted name of ‘Bar I.T. David.’ The suspect
has also prepared and signed several legal documents and court
processes in the same adopted name.
“In another development, the suspect failed to report back to
the police when requested to do so following the administrative bail
given to him on November 29, 2016, while investigating the allegation
against him.
“However, he was later re-arrested in the attic of his house at
about 8am on January 7, 2017, after a prolonged manhunt for him. At the
point of his arrest at his residence on ‘F’ Division Police Station
Road, Tanke, Ilorin, a complete set of a legal practitioner’s robe which
included one set of a lawyer’s gown, wig and beep were seized.
“Other incriminating items relating to his fraudulent practice
as a legal practitioner, which include legal books, complementary cards
in his adopted name, bundles of cash receipts for his practice, copies
of legal processes in various courts prepared and filed by him, and
several other incriminating items relating to his fraudulent legal
practice, were recovered from him.”
The FIR said when the actual David was contacted by the police, he confirmed knowing the suspect as a land speculator in Abuja.
He said he was not aware that he had been using his documents to practise law.
The police report said investigation revealed that Adogun was not a
legal practitioner as he claimed, and did not undertake any law
programme in any institution.
The suspect was subsequently arraigned before a Magistrate’s Court in Ilorin.
When the matter came up on Wednesday at the court presided over by
Mrs. I.O. Olawoyin, a Principal Inspector of Prisons from the Mandella
Maximum Prison, Ilorin, Mr. Samuel Bobinihi, said the accused was ill
and had been taken to a hospital.
The Chief State Counsel, Mr. Ayoola Akande, said he had been informed that the accused was medically unfit.
He added that if indeed he was ill, he expected a medical report to be presented to the court.
The magistrate said although there was no medical report of the
accused before the court, the prisons service should take him to a
hospital for proper medical attention so that he would be fit to defend
himself.
The matter was adjourned till February 16, 2017, for mention.
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