A 35-year-old graduate of law, Imoh Sunday, is currently facing charges of forgery, stealing and impersonation at the Tinubu Magistrates’ Court, Lagos State.
He was accused of diverting a sum of N1.9m belonging to the Red Star Courier Service.
Sunday had told the police that he graduated in 2009 and claimed to have been called to bar.
He was arraigned for impersonation and forgery after it was discovered that he used a cloned law school certificate as part of bail conditions for the initial charges that brought him to the court on February 27.
PUNCH Metro gathered that Sunday’s wife, Chikodi, who works for the courier firm, had given him the money piecemeal between March 2014 and January 2015 for deposit at the First Bank Plc, used by the firm.
It was learnt that the sum was payment made by customers of the firm.
Our correspondent gathered that the management of the courier service reported the case at the Lion Building Police Station when they could not access the funds and Sunday was arrested.
The police said investigations revealed that the indigene of Impat Enim in Akwa Ibom State, stamped the deposit slips of the bank with a forged stamp he allegedly obtained at the Oluwole area of the state.
It was gathered that the suspect was taken to the bank, where it was proved that there was no record that he deposited the money. He was later brought before the magistrate, Mrs. O.M. Ajayi, on two counts of forgery and stealing.
Sunday, however, pleaded not guilty and was admitted to bail in the sum of N200,000 with two sureties in like sum.
Our correspondent learnt that the forged certificate was discovered while the defence counsel, J.J. Ozemhoya, was making efforts to perfect his client’s bail. Ozemhoya subsequently wrote the court, indicating his withdrawal from the matter after the discovery.
The letter read in part, “Upon the processing of the defendant’s bail, we requested that the wife attach his Call-to-Bar Certificate to proof and lend credence to our earlier application. The defendant’s wife brought photocopies of the said documents. The court suspected that the certificate was forged. I personally investigated and checked all the NBA sites and portals, but could not find the defendant’s name.
“Since I have a duty to protect the Bar and the court and the entire society, I have to formally write to note this while I withdraw from the case to avoid name smearing.”
During the second arraignment, the defendant equally pleaded not guilty to the two counts of impersonation and forgery preferred against him by the police.
The charges read in part, “That you, Imoh Sunday, on November 15, 2010 in Lagos Magisterial District, did forge certificate of Call-to-Bar of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 363 (1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State.”
The presiding magistrate, Mrs. Salama Matepo, granted him bail in the sum of N50,000 with two sureties in like sum, adding that the defendant should be remanded in custody pending the perfection of his bail.
While the first case was adjourned till May 6, 2015, the impersonation case would come up on May 13, 2015.
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