By Charles Akinbode
A Chief Magistrates’ Court in Osogbo, Osun State has convicted and sentenced a 25-year old fake lawyer, AbdulGafar Ayanrinde, to three years imprisonment.
The convict, who falsely paraded himself as Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) between 18th and 22nd May 2023, was reportedly arrested by men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Osun State on the 24th May.
The NSCDC spokesperson in Osun State, Kehinde Adeleke, in a statement on Wednesday, said the convict duped five unsuspecting members of the public and also stole an iPhone worth ₦450,000,00, after presenting himself as a Barrister at Law and a SAN.
During his trial, the convict “pleaded guilty to the two-count charge bordering on impersonation of a legal practitioner contrary to Section 484 of the Criminal Code Law, Cap 34 Laws of Osun State of Nigeria, and obtaining money under false pretenses contrary to Section 419 of the Criminal Code Law, Cap 34 Laws of Osun State of Nigeria.”
After admitting to committing the crime, “the defendant was pronounced guilty by Magistrate M.A. Olatunji, who sentenced him to three years imprisonment for each of the counts.”
The magistrate ruled that the sentence would run concurrently and also directed that the sum of N150,000, being the proceed of the crime, should be transferred from the convict’s account to the victim’s account.
