From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Four cyber cafe operators were on Wednesday remanded at the Aba Correctional Centre by a Chief Magistrate Court 1, sitting in Aba South local government area of Abia State.
The four accused persons, Onuoha Ikechukwu, 40, Daniel Lawrence, 27, Odinaka Onyeforo, 37, and Ndukwe Chukwu, 50, were arraigned in the court presided over by His Worship, Erinma Maduagwu, on a three count charge.
The four suspects in suit No. MAS/284c/2024, were accused of conspiracy, impersonation and forging of Power of Attorney, which is the exclusive duty of a qualified legal practitioner.
It was gathered that all the suspects have their business centers at Nos. 2F, 2J Pound Road Extension, Aba, very close to the trial court.
The prosecutor, Uzoamaka Emmanuel, told the court that the 1st defendant, Onuoha Ikechukwu, was caught with over 70 Power of Attorneys said to have been prepared by him, bearing different names of lawyers both living and dead.
She said the suspects who were usually patronised by lawyers to prepare one form of legal document or the other for them, took advantage of doing jobs for lawyers to allegedly steal some lawyers’ letterheads and subsequently use same to prepare illegal documents for unsuspecting members of the public.
The prosecutor said the accused persons sometimes use names, seals and stamps of deceased lawyers to prepare legal documents among other fraudulent acts which she said were punishable under section 516A(a), section 484, 465, and 467(1) (b) of the Criminal Code Cap 80 Vol.111 Laws of Abia State of Nigeria 2005.
One of the three count charges read: “That you, Onuoha Ikechukwu “M”, Daniel Lawrence “M”, Odinakachi Onyeforo “M”, Ndukwe Chukwu “M” and others now at large on or before the 9th day of October 2024, at Nos: 2F, 2J Pound Road Extension, Aba respectively, in the Aba South Magisterial District did forge and or with seal to members of the public on payment of legal fees to you purporting same to have been properly made by a solicitor/Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 465, punishable under section 467(1)(b) of the Criminal Code Cap 80 Bol. 111 Laws of Abia State of Nigeria 2005.”
The accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The trial magistrate, after hearing their pleas, adjourned the matter to Friday, October 25 for consideration of their bail applications and ordered they be remanded at the Aba Correctional Centre.
The chairman, Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Aba branch, Charles Oluchukwu, speaking on the matter, said that “these perpetrators have really dealt with us (lawyers).”
He said the bar passed a resolution that such persons caught in the act should be prosecuted and that the names of some of their colleagues who have been aiding them in signing those documents would be forwarded to legal practitioners’ disciplinary committee Abuja for prosecution and at the end, their licences will be withdrawn.