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From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The Supreme Court, through the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC), has approved the elevation of 68 lawyers to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), welcoming a fresh class of advocates and one academic into the profession’s highest cadre.
The decision emerged from the committee’s 174th plenary session, chaired by the Chief Justice of Nigeria and LPPC chairman, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, who presided over deliberations on the applications.
Of the 68 successful applicants, 67 rose through the legal practice, while one, Professor Nnamdi Onyeka Obiaraeri, earned elevation on the strength of academic scholarship, a nod to the LPPC’s recognition of excellence both at the Bar and in legal academia.
The SAN rank remains the profession’s highest honour, reserved for lawyers who have demonstrated sustained professional excellence and integrity, whether through courtroom advocacy or scholarship that has advanced the development of Nigerian law.
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Among those elevated this year are Ibrahim Gamdeh Adamu, Jude Chukwuemeka Okafor, Godwill Achibong Umoh, Sunday Samuel Obende, James Eromosele Agbonhese, Alexander Nduka Muoka, Charles Azubuike Obodozie, Faruk Abdullahi, Ifeanyi Godwin Ezeuko, Eric Keme-Egolukumor Omare, Somina Peter Johnbull, Darlington Nnabuike Ozurumba, Jonathan Akintola Makinde, Olajide Salami and Mohammed Abiodun Adelodun, alongside other senior lawyers named on the committee’s official list.
The LPPC clearly noted that the announcement did not mean immediate conferment of the title. Every successful applicant must first complete the mandatory pre-swearing-in induction programme, organised under the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN), before the rank can be formally bestowed. The formal swearing-in ceremony has been scheduled for Monday, October 12.
The committee also warned successful applicants against publishing congratulatory advertisements, goodwill messages or promotional notices about their nomination, noting that such conduct violates Paragraph 25(1) of the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Guidelines and Rule 39(3) of the Rules of Professional Conduct, 2023 and could attract sanctions.
The directive underscores the long-standing view that admission into the Inner Bar is not simply a professional milestone to be publicised, but a solemn recognition of character, excellence and service to the administration of justice.
Introduced in 1975 and patterned after the Queen’s Counsel (now King’s Counsel) system in the United Kingdom, the SAN rank remains Nigeria’s highest professional honour for legal practitioners. Beyond the prestige it carries, SANs frequently lead complex constitutional, commercial and public interest litigation, while shaping legal development and mentoring younger lawyers.
