The Nigerian police have arrested 49-year-old Chris Elisha who has worked as a lawyer for the past 15 years without any qualification.
A fake lawyer, Chris Elisha has been arrested in Lagos State, Nigeria after practicing Law for 15 years. pic.twitter.com/V4gVeU6wqj
— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) February 9, 2018
The suspect was apprehended at a Lagos State court after he was challenged by another lawyer during a criminal case hearing on Tuesday, police spokesman Chike Oti told the BBC.
The police said he could not articulate his legal argument when his client was granted bail under some stringent conditions which he wanted to be changed. Meanwhile, he is reported to have won several cases in court.
The suspect has not commented after the arrest but local media reported that after interrogation by the police, he said he had studied law at a Ukrainian university and was yet to be called to the bar in Nigeria. He is expected to appear in court on Friday to answer to charges of impersonation.
This is not the first case of impersonation by fake lawyers in Nigeria. As documented by Nigerian Isima Odeh via his Africa Facts Zone account, another fake lawyer called Peter Adogun, who practised law for 10 years in Kwara State was arrested.
He is reported to have won cases at the Supreme Court with no legal training. “He started practising Law in 2007 after he obtained a lawyer’s qualifications. He was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment.”
Another impersonator, 66-year-old Kayode Jones, with “22 years experience in Law,” was arrested in Lagos State. He won one out of 14 cases in court.
This article by Ismail Akwei was first published on face2faceafrica.com
Ismail Akwei 