Too Many Silks, Too Little Prestige

Following the shortlisting of 89 candidates for the conferment of the prestigious rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria for the 2026 exercise, analysts are calling on the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, to sanitise the selection process to restore the rank’s dwindling glory, Davidson Iriekpen writes. Last month, the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC) shortlisted 89 candidates for the conferment of the prestigious rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) for the 2026 exercise. The list comprises 77 legal practitioners under the advocacy category and 12 academics who have advanced to the final stage of the annual SAN conferment process. The committee said it found that the candidates passed several assessment stages, including the advocates’ first and second filtration exercises, academic pre-qualification, academic first attrition exercise, independent appeals hearing, and chambers inspection. The LPPC cautioned that inclusion on the short list does not amount to a successful application. It therefore invited the general public “to comment on the integrity, reputation, and competence of the shortlisted candidates.” The committee asked members of the public to submit comments to the Office of the Secretary, Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee, Supreme Court, Abuja, by July 15. It said any “complaint or adverse representation against a candidate must be accompanied by a verifying affidavit deposed to by the author before a superior court of record in Nigeria or before a notary public in Nigeria.” The committee added that such comments or complaints must be submitted in 20 copies. The rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria is the highest distinction conferred on legal practitioners in Nigeria. It is awarded annually to lawyers and academics who have distinguished themselves in legal practice, legal scholarship, and contributions to the development of the legal profession. Members of the Inner Bar, as SANs are fondly called, enjoy privileges, including reserved seats in the front rows of all courts and priority for their cases. They are also distinguishable from other lawyers by their attire, called ‘silk ‘, which is styled differently from the gown worn by other lawyers. However, many legal practitioners have raised concerns over the new conditions for lawyers wishing to attain the rank. They raised concerns because the number of lawyers assigned by the LPPC for the award has been increasing for three consecutive years, while the quality has been declining. In 2025, 72 candidates were shortlisted. While many thought the number would go down this year, it has rather increased. Although LPPC announced in 2022 that the application for SAN rank would carry a non-refundable processing fee of N600,000, THISDAY has learnt that the amount has since been increased to over N1million. This has sparked concern among lawyers, who decried what they called the “commercialisation” and “politicisation” of the bar’s highest honour and privilege, similar to the United Kingdom’s inner bar rank, known as the Queen’s Counsel (QC). While people have different views about the rank, depending on which side of the divide they stand, some want it abolished completely as they deem it an unfair trade practice to confer special privileges on certain persons by way of ranking. Others believe that it is good to encourage healthy competition, but that substantial reform is required to make it strictly merit-based and transparent. Lawyers who spoke to THISDAY said the award of the SAN rank was supposed to be based on proven integrity by those who had developed the hard work and legal skills required. They lamented that the manner in which the award is being conferred now leaves much to be desired. Some of the lawyers who did not want their names in print called for a review of the guidelines for the award of the prestigious rank. They bemoaned the huge sums required to apply for the rank. “Over N1,000,000 is just the amount; when the committee comes to inspect the offices of applicants and their libraries, they do get much more than that,” said a lawyer. In the UK, where Nigeria copied the SAN title, the rank of QC or KC, depending on the gender of the monarch, which was first established in 1597, has about 1,600 to 1,900 members, while in Nigeria, where SAN was established in 1975, over 1,250 lawyers have been conferred with the title. Observers believe that with the large number of SANs churned out every year, the title has not only lost quality and value, but that the number of those holding the title would exceed that of ordinary lawyers in the near future. “The prestigious award has been bastardised and compromised. It is losing its value and quality because it is now given to all Tom, Dick and Harry. As with

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