A Lagos-based legal practitioner, Edward Oseghale, has been arrested following allegations of forgery and issuance of a fake court judgment.
Oseghale’s arrest was disclosed today by Mrs Taiwo Olatokunbo, the Chief Registrar, Lagos State Judiciary while speaking on behalf of the Chief Judge of the state, Mrs Opeyemi Oke
According to her, the suspect was apprehended by police officers who laid siege at the premises of Court ‘4’ Surulere, Lagos, where he had a matter.
She said that the Lagos State Judiciary had received a series of complaints from counsels and litigants within and outside the country over the issuance of forged judgments and order of the court.
She added that the complainant was a defendant, who applied to the Magistrate for the Certified True Copy of the judgment after receiving it from the suspect.
Olatokun said, “The issue of forged judgment, court order and other court documents have become an embarrassment to the judiciary.
“On many occasions, we got an e-mail from the United Kingdom and the United States of America for verification of documents for confirmation of its authenticity.
“In this particular case, a defendant asked for the CTC from a magistrate of a judgment.
“Upon verification, the magistrate discovered that the judgment did not emanate from her court.
“Upon perusing the judgment, the magistrate found out that the suspect used the suite number of a matter which he is handling in the court to perpetrate the alleged fraud.
“The judgment was not signed by the magistrate. It also has the stamp of the Assistant Chief Registrar at Yaba. The affected officer denied knowledge of the alleged forged document.
“We have done our own investigation on it and the police have begun their investigation and we are sure that the suspect will soon face a court trial.”
