The Nigerian Law Society (NLS) has urged the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC) to make its selection process for the conferment of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) more transparent by publicly disclosing candidates’ scores.
The society made the demand through its Executive Director, Dr Tonye Clinton Jaja, on Tuesday, calling for the publication of scores of lawyers shortlisted for the 2027 SAN conferment.
The NLS said the proposed measure would promote accountability and align Nigeria’s selection process with the system used in the United Kingdom for appointing King’s Counsel (KC), a rank regarded as equivalent to SAN.
According to the society, the UK’s King’s Counsel selection process involves an independent panel that assesses applicants’ experience, case records and feedback from professional referees before conducting interviews with qualified candidates.
It added that selections are based on a published competency framework, with recommendations forwarded to the Lord Chancellor before formal appointments are made by the King.
The demand comes as the LPPC has opened applications for the 2027 SAN conferment, with its online portal scheduled to run from November 1, 2026, to January 31, 2027.
The committee fixed a non-refundable application fee of five million naira for private legal practitioners and two million, five hundred thousand naira for lawyers in government employment.
The NLS, which represents many non-litigation lawyers, has historically argued that the existing SAN selection criteria do not adequately recognise the contributions of legal practitioners involved in areas such as legislative drafting and advocacy.
Its members, through the Association of Legislative and Advocacy Drafting Practitioners (ALDRAP), have promoted an alternative professional distinction known as Blue Silks, or Senior Counsel of Nigeria (SCN), for non-litigation practitioners.
However, the initiative has faced opposition from the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the LPPC and other stakeholders in the legal sector, resulting in ongoing court disputes involving the parties.
Explaining the basis for the Blue Silks initiative, the NLS said it was modelled on Britain’s legal traditions, which recognise other specialist legal distinctions, including Parliamentary Counsel, for lawyers distinguished in legislative drafting and parliamentary advocacy.
The society also cited Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution and the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 as the legal basis for the initiative, while pointing to a January 27, 2026, judgment by Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja as further support for its position.
