Osun: Fake lawyer bags six years jail term

• Court orders prison authorities to ensure academic advancement of the convict while in custody.
• Convict also stole iPhone worth N450,000.

One Ayanrinde AbdulGafar has been sentenced to six years in prison for posing as a lawyer.

The 25-year-old fake lawyer was convicted and sentenced by the Magistrate Court sitting in Osogbo, Osun State.

Prior to his conviction, the fake lawyer specialised in fraud, impersonation, stealing, and obtaining money under false pretences.

He was subsequently arrested and arraigned by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) after swindling five people while posing as a barrister of law and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

Osun NSCDC spokesperson, Adeleke Kehinde, announced the conviction of AbdulGafar in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement read “The suspect, Ayanrinde AbdulGafar, admitted to having presented himself as a barrister of law and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) to dupe five unsuspecting members of the public of their hard-earned money.

“He also confessed to stealing an iPhone worth N450,000. The conviction was secured after the suspect was arraigned at the Magistrate Court sitting in Osogbo, Osun State, where he was found guilty and sentenced to three years imprisonment on the first count charge and three years on the second count charge.

“The magistrate further ordered the transfer of the sum of N150,000, being part of the proceeds of the crime, from the convict’s account to the victim’s account, while the Nigeria Correctional Service shall provide facility and enabling environment for the academic advancement of the convict while in custody.”