CJN Kekere-Ekun Confers Senior Advocate Rank on 68 Lawyers at Opening of 2026/2027 Legal Year

Supreme Court of Nigeria

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On Monday, 12 October 2026, Chief Justice of Nigeria Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun formally admitted 68 legal practitioners into the Inner Bar as Senior Advocates of Nigeria during a special session at the Supreme Court complex in Abuja. The ceremony doubled as the formal opening of the 2026/2027 legal year, an annual ritual that combines institutional stocktaking with the elevation of practitioners judged to have reached the highest professional distinction available in Nigerian law.

Of the 68, 67 were elevated under the advocacy category and one—Professor Nnamdi Onyeka Obiaraeri of Imo State University—under the academic category. Their names had been approved three months earlier, on 23 July 2026, at the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee’s 174th plenary session, also chaired by the Chief Justice.

The successful candidates completed a mandatory pre-conferment induction programme organised under the auspices of the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria.

A Rank That Demands More Than Achievement

Addressing the new silks, Kekere-Ekun framed the honour less as a personal trophy than as a public trust. “The rank you receive today is a distinction of great honour and carries a corresponding responsibility,” she said. “The Inner Bar is not merely a recognition of professional success; it is a call to leadership. You will now be looked upon not only for the quality of your advocacy but also for the example you set to younger members of the profession. Carry the rank with dignity, humility and a deep sense of responsibility.”

She was explicit that the rank confers no immunity. Referring to disciplinary actions taken against senior members of the profession in the preceding legal year, the Chief Justice reminded the new SANs that “the fact that a lawyer has attained the rank of Senior Advocate does not place him beyond accountability… no professional rank is a substitute for ethical conduct.” The Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee had already reminded successful applicants of Paragraph 25(1) of the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Guidelines and Rule 39(3) of the Rules of Professional Conduct 2023, which prohibit the publication or encouragement of congratulatory advertisements and goodwill messages about the elevation; breaches attract sanctions.

The legal-year address also looked forward. With the 2027 general elections approaching, Kekere-Ekun cautioned judicial officers against political association or any conduct that could create an appearance of partiality. She warned lawyers against forum shopping—the practice of instituting multiple similar proceedings or deliberately selecting courts perceived as favourable—describing it as a threat to orderly administration of justice. On the operational side, she noted that the Supreme Court had handled 2,456 matters in the 2025/2026 legal year, delivered 411 judgments, disposed of 178 moribund matters in chambers, and begun implementing the Nigerian Case Management System. She again pressed for timely release of appropriated funds, arguing that delays undermine judicial independence and infrastructure.

What SAN Status Actually Means

The rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, created under Section 5 of the Legal Practitioners Act, is the Nigerian equivalent of King’s Counsel (formerly Queen’s Counsel) in England and Wales. It was first conferred on 3 April 1975 on Chief F.R.A. Williams and Dr Nabo Graham-Douglas. Chief (Mrs) Folake Solanke became the first woman SAN in 1981.

Holders sit in the “Inner Bar,” enjoy certain privileges of precedence in court, and are expected to embody professional excellence and ethical leadership.

Eligibility requires at least ten years’ post-call practice (or equivalent academic standing), demonstrable distinction, good character, and no pending disciplinary proceedings. Advocates must show substantial courtroom experience—typically a prescribed number of contested judgments at the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court levels—plus evidence of pro bono work, tax compliance, and leadership qualities. Evaluation criteria weight integrity, judicial opinion and references, knowledge of law, contribution to legal development, leadership, and the quality of the applicant’s chambers or library. Academics face parallel but distinct tests focused on teaching record, peer-reviewed publications, and scholarly impact. The process involves application, shortlisting, public comment, chamber inspections, interviews and final LPPC approval.

Numbers, Trends and Selectivity

This year’s class of 68 is eleven larger than the 57 elevated in 2025 and sits close to the recent average. Since 2020 the annual intake has hovered around that figure (72 in 2020 and 2021, 62 in 2022, 58 in 2023, a peak of 87 in 2024, 57 in 2025, 68 in 2026). That marks a sharp departure from earlier decades, when annual conferments often averaged in the low teens. Between 2015 and 2024 alone, nearly 500 lawyers received the rank—more than half of all SANs appointed since 1975. The expansion has not been uncontroversial; the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria has previously expressed concern about dilution of the rank’s exclusivity.

This cycle began with a shortlist of 89 (77 advocates and 12 academics). Seventy-six per cent of the shortlisted advocates succeeded; only one of the twelve academics did. That single academic success continues a recent pattern: one academic has been elevated each year since 2023.

Spotlight on the Sole Academic and Notable Practitioners

Professor Nnamdi Onyeka Obiaraeri, born 13 December 1963 in Amaokwe village, Amagu Ihube, Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State, is a long-serving academic at Imo State University, Owerri. He graduated best in his class with an LL.B (Second Class Upper) from the then Imo State University (now Abia State University) in 1986, was called to the Bar in 1987, earned an LL.M in 1991 and a Ph.D in Law in 2014. He rose through the ranks to full professor in 2015, has served as Dean of the Faculty of Law, and is a Notary Public. A former Fellow and Visiting Scholar at the Human Rights Institute of Columbia University, he has published extensively on evidence, human rights, electoral jurisprudence and related fields. He has also held political appointments in Imo State, including as commissioner in several ministries. Reports indicate he had applied unsuccessfully in earlier cycles before finally succeeding this year.

Among the advocates, several names stand out for prior public roles: Alexander Nduka Muoka (former chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association Lagos Branch), Akorede Habeeb Lawal (former NBA national spokesperson), and Senior Sulyman Ibrahim (Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Kwara State). Four women appear on the list—Soibi Ideriah Ovia, Igonikon Abiola Adekunle, Olujoke Enitan Aliu and Olamide Mojigbotoluwa Adekunle—continuing the gradual, if still limited, increase in female representation at the highest level of the profession. Kwara State alone celebrated four new SANs, including the state Attorney-General.

Implications for the Profession

The steady growth in annual conferments reflects both the expansion of the Nigerian Bar and a policy choice to recognise a broader cohort of high-achieving practitioners. Whether that expansion strengthens or dilutes the rank’s prestige remains an open debate within the profession. What is less debatable is the Chief Justice’s insistence that the silk carries heavier ethical and leadership obligations precisely because of the visibility and influence it confers.

For the new SANs, the practical consequences are immediate: higher professional standing, greater expectations from clients, courts and junior colleagues, and stricter scrutiny of conduct. For the wider justice system, the annual legal-year ceremony and the accompanying SAN elevations serve as a public reaffirmation that excellence, integrity and institutional reform remain central aspirations—even as caseloads, funding shortfalls and the approach of a high-stakes election cycle continue to test those aspirations.

Full List of the 68 New Senior Advocates of Nigeria (in order of seniority at the Bar for the advocates)

1. Ibrahim Gamdeh Adamu

2. Jude Chukwuemeka Okafor

3. Godwill Achibong Umoh

4. Sunday Samuel Obende

5. Adebayo Olugbenga Adaralegbe

6. Jimson Ejovi Okodaso

7. Olalekan Lawrence Bade-John

8. Olaotan Thomas Olusegun

9. Philemeon Audu Daffi

10. Adenrele David Adegborioye

11. James Eromosele Agbonhese

12. Alexander Nduka Muoka

13. Onome Okodiya

14. Emmanuel Akunke Akomaye

15. Ikhide Ehighelua

16. Mas’ud Mobolaji Alabelewe

17. Ogunmuyiwa Olayinka Balogun

18. Anthony Auditz Iroagalachi

19. Mohammed Tajudeen Mohammed

20. Odion Peter Odia

21. Gbemiga Adaramola

22. Moses Okoh Onyilokwu

23. Charles Azubuike Obodozie

24. Hakeem Obafemi Agaba

25. Bimbo Felix Atilola

26. Okechukwu Steve Emelieze

27. Joshua Demilade Olaniyan

CJN Kekere-Ekun Confers Senior Advocate Rank on 68 Lawyers at Opening of 2026/2027 Legal Year

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