Iddrisu Yahaya
A ‘LAWYER’, whose demeanour and wrong presentation and interpretation of the law at court gave him up as a quack lawyer, has been detained by police in Techiman in the Bono East Region.
After observing the demeanour of the ‘lawyer’, a curious Circuit Court judge, Alexander Graham, ordered the immediate arrest of Iddrisu Yahaya, 34, who had appeared in court, claiming to represent four accused persons.
Yahaya fumbled when he tried to introduce himself to the judge and that made him suspect he was not a genuine lawyer.
The Bono East police spokesperson, ASP Henry Ofori, confirmed the incident and said Yahaya was being interrogated by the police.
DAILY GUIDE’s checks are showing that in recent times, as part of court procedures, lawyers appearing before a particular court for the first time normally introduce themselves to the court by stating their names and the chamber from which they work and if possible the judge may wish to know their licence. However, sources say it was not the case with Yahaya.
Police preliminary investigation showed that Yahaya allegedly collected a total sum of GH¢25,000 from four accused persons who are standing trial in order to defend them.
ASP Ofori said “he did not introduce himself properly when he appeared before the judge. He said he was representing the accused persons.”
According to the police spokesperson, not satisfied with his conduct, the judge then invited him and a senior lawyer into a chamber where the suspect quoted a wrong registration number during the meeting.
He said the judge then asked the police to take the supposed lawyer away for further interrogation and added that Yahaya is likely to be charged with defrauding by false pretence and deceit of public officer if he is found not to be a legal practitioner.
danielyaodayee@yahoo.com
FROM Daniel Y Dayee, Techiman