Lawyer wants court to stop inauguration of senior advocates

The controversy surrounding the appointment of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) by the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC), yesterday took another dimension as a lawyer, Emonena Blessing Ukiri, went to a Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking to stop the inauguration.

Joined in the suit are the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Aloysius Katsina-Alu, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, and the LPPC.

The LPPC had recently conferred on 30 lawyers the rank of SAN, following the agreement of registered trustees of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), and the Chief Justice of Nigeria Mr Katsina-Alu who settled their differences over the appointment.


The NBA had dragged Mr Katsina-Alu and others to court over the appointment. But at the last sitting, counsel to both parties informed the court, presided over by Gabriel Kolawole that they had agreed to settle the matter out of court.

Part of the agreement was that the plaintiff would submit to the LPPC her confidential references on the applicants for the appointment to the rank of Senior Advocates of Nigeria on or before June 7th and the committee would receive and consider the said references.

Furthermore, that the committee would consider representations from adversely affected applicants in the appeal process in accordance with the guidelines, and will decide on whether or not to proceed with their application. Thereafter, the award could be made any time from June 21 upwards.

But yesterday, Bamidele Aturu, counsel to applicant in a motion ex-parte sought an order of the court to issue, hear and determine the suit during the vacation.

“The defendants are on the verge of conferring the rank of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), for the year 2010 & 2011 during this vacation period. Once the exercise takes place the subject matter of this suit is destroyed.”

Legal bottleneck
In an affidavit in support of the motion by Itedjere Anthony, he said that the defendants are planning to confer the rank of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) for the year 2010 & 2011 during this vacation period which is the subject matter. “There is real urgency for this court to determine this suit so that the defendants do not render whatever the decision of this court would be nugatory.” He wants the court to determine, among others, whether the decision of the defendants not to confer the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) on the Plaintiff who came first in the 2010 exercise is not unconstitutional, unconscionable, unlawful, illegal, null, void, discriminatory and of no effect whatsoever for being in wanton violation of Section 42 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended and the provisions of the Regulations/Guidelines for the Conferment of the rank of SAN.

Specifically, whether the defendants are competent to confer the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) for the year 2011 on anyone when the selection exercise for 2011 had not commenced due to the spill-over of the 2010 exercise into July, 2011 and when no candidate has yet applied for the rank for 2011.

And whether the defendants are bound to observe the principles of natural justice and fair hearing before making any adverse decision against any applicant for the conferment of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria against whom an allegation capable of adversely affecting him has been made.

Also whether it is not mandatory for the defendants to have given the Plaintiff an opportunity to be heard in response to the alleged adverse report from the Port Harcourt branch against the plaintiff before acting on the alleged adverse report to the prejudice of the plaintiff.

He wants a declaration that the respondents having failed to comply with their regulations/guidelines for the conferment of the rank of SAN for the year 2011 are not entitled to confer the said rank on any person in Nigeria in respect of the year 2011, which selection exercise has not commenced.

And an order of perpetual injunction restraining the respondents, either acting by themselves or through their agents, staff, subordinate officers, or howsoever, under any guise or form, from conferring the rank of SAN in respect of the 2011 exercise, on anyone in Nigeria without first including the name of the applicant who is entitled to be among the 1st – 5th successful candidates on the said list in order of merit.

The NBA had argued that although the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria is an important institution in the legal profession of Nigeria, over the years, there have been complaints of lowering of standards, abuse of process and outright corruption of the selection process and this has led to a large section of the Bar calling for its total abolition.

Majority of legal practitioners, however, think the process of appointment should be reformed.

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