Nigerian Law Society challenges LPPC to publish scores of SAN candidates

The Nigerian Law Society, NLS, has challenged the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee, LPPC, to beryllium transparent successful the enactment of lawyers for the fertile of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN.

The NLS is simply a assemblage comprising mostly Nigerian non-litigation lawyers, who person been historically excluded from information for the SAN fertile mostly due to the fact that the criteria for the conferment of the rubric did not seizure their roles successful the ineligible profession.

The determination by members of the NLS, done the Association of Legislative and Advocacy Drafting Practitioners, ALDRAP, to present the Blue Silks fertile arsenic an alternate to the SAN rubric for non-litigation lawyers successful Nigeria has been met with stiff absorption from the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, and the LPPC, arsenic good arsenic cardinal stakeholders and institutions successful the country's ineligible system.

The improvement has sparked a protracted ineligible battle. The Blue Silks fertile is the taxable of respective pending tribunal cases betwixt the non-litigation lawyers, nether the umbrella of NLS and ALDRAP, connected 1 side, and the NBA, LPPC, and immoderate large officials successful the judicial sector, including the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, Mr Kabir Akanbi, connected the different side.

The LPPC precocious invited applications for the 2027 conferment of the fertile of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, fixing a non-refundable processing interest of N5 cardinal for backstage ineligible practitioners and N2.5 cardinal for government-employed lawyers. The online exertion portal opened connected November 1, 2026, to adjacent connected January 31, 2027.

The announcement for applications was issued pursuant to provisions of Section 5(2) of the Legal Practitioners Act, and Paragraphs 10(1)–(4) of the 2022 Guidelines for the grant of the SAN rank.

Traditionally, earlier the conferment of the SAN rank, the LPPC releases a shortlist of candidates. But the candidates' scores are not disclosed.

However, the Nigerian Law Society, NLS, has present asked the LPPC to, henceforth, people the scores of the candidates, arsenic is done by the Appointments Committee for candidates selected for the conferment of the fertile of King's Counsel, KC, successful the United Kingdom. The SAN fertile successful Nigeria is regarded arsenic the equivalent of the King's Counsel fertile successful the UK.

The NLS made the request done its Executive Director, Dr Tonye Clinton Jaja, connected Tuesday.

"The Nigerian Law Society, NLS, has challenged the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee, LPPC, to use transparency successful its process of assignment of candidates for the fertile of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN.

"Specifically, it requested the LPPC to undertake a work of the scores of candidates (in the nationalist domain) who marque it to the agelong database of adjacent year's Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN.

"This proposition is successful enactment with the transparency applied by the Appointments Committee of the King's Counsel, KC, of the United Kingdom," the NLS said.

Outlining the process for conferment of the fertile of King's Counsel successful the UK, the NLS added, "The process of becoming a King's Counsel, KC, commonly known arsenic "taking silk" successful England and Wales, is an independent, merit-based enactment process managed by King's Counsel Appointments, KCA, and administered done the autarkic Selection Panel."

Further highlighting the process for enactment of candidates for the KC fertile successful the UK, the NLS noted that ineligible and laic members of the Selection Panel reappraisal the exertion forms, lawsuit details, and assessor feedback. Candidates who conscionable the threshold are invited for a sheet interview.

"Selection is judged purely against the published competency model with nary fixed quota oregon bounds connected the fig of appointments. The Selection Panel submits its recommendations of palmy candidates to the Lord Chancellor. Formal assignment is made by His Majesty The King connected the proposal of the Lord Chancellor. Successful candidates are formally "called wrong the bar" during authoritative taking silk ceremonies," the NLS added.

The NLS further explained that the Blue Silks fertile has its origins successful the ineligible contented bequeathed to Nigeria by the British.

"It should beryllium noted that the Blue Silks fertile of Senior Counsel of Nigeria, SCN, is an adaptation of the ineligible contented that was bequeathed by the assemblage authorities of the United Kingdom to Nigeria.

"In the United Kingdom, isolated from the fertile of King's Counsel (which commenced successful the 1300s), which is exclusively for courtroom litigation lawyers (barristers), determination are different ranks which are for non-litigation lawyers specified arsenic the fertile of Parliamentary Counsel conferred by the Parliament of the United Kingdom upon lawyers who separate themselves successful the creation of legislative drafting of some authorities and Private Member Bills and legislative advocacy earlier the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The contented of keeping a Register of this class of lawyers commenced successful the twelvemonth 1869.

"It is worthy of enactment that some the fertile of King's Counsel, KC, and the Parliamentary Counsel are not the instauration of statutes oregon authorities but a substance of ineligible tradition.

"Therefore, the Blue Silks fertile of Senior Counsel of Nigeria, SCN, derives its ineligible ground not from immoderate nonstop authorities but from Section 40 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020, which grants self-regulatory powers upon the incorporated trustees and different entities to confer ranks of fellowship upon their members," it stated.

The NLS added that a judgement delivered by Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Abuja Federal High Court connected January 27, 2026, gave further impetus and ineligible ground for the Blue Silks rank.

Nigerian Law Society challenges LPPC to people scores of SAN candidates