Ade Adesomoju, Abuja

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, will on September 18 confer the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria on 30 lawyers.

A statement by the Director of Press and Information, Supreme Court, Dr Festus Akande, on Tuesday, said the conferment of the SAN on the lawyers was part of the events lined up to mark the commencement of 2017/2018 legal year.

The Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee had on July 6 announced Lagos lawyer, Mr Festus Keyamo, among the 30 successful candidates to be awarded the prestigious rank.


Twenty-nine others, including the Alliance for Democracy’s candidate in the last governorship election in Ondo State and a former National Legal Adviser of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olusola Oke, were among the successful candidates.

A former Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice in Ogun State and a brother to the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, Akinlolu Osinbajo; a former Director-General of the Nigerian Copyright Commission, Prof Adebambo Adewepo; and the Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Prof Adedeji Adekunle, were also on the list

The only female among the successful applicants is Oluwatoyin Bashorun.

The successful applicants announced by the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court and the Secretary to the LPPC, Mrs. Hadiza Mustapha, were Chibuike Nwokeukwu, Johnnie Egwuonwu, Bert Igwilo, Sylvester Enema, Ikenna Egbuna and Wilcox Aberton.

Michael Alliyu, Akinlolu Osinbajo and Francis Egele, Olusola Oke, Nasser Dangiri, Oluwatoyin Bashorun, Emeka Okpoko, Sani Garun-Gabbas, Abdul Ibrahim, John Odubela, Gboyega Oyewole and Joshua Musa also made the list.

Others are Ibrahim Mohammed, Festus Keyamo, Ekemejero Ohwovoriole, Oyetola Oshobi, Sulaiman Usman, Kehinde Ogunwumiju, Chiesonu Okpoko and Kamaldeen Ajibade.

The successful candidates in the academic category are Professors Enefiok Essien, Sadiq Shikyl, Adebambo Adewepo, and Adedeji Adekunle.

Announcing the names on July 6, Mustapha had said the successful candidates emerged after three days of final interview in which 72 shortlisted candidates participated.

The statement, on Tuesday, announcing the date for the inauguration of the new SANs read, “The Hon. Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Walter S.N Onnoghen, GCON, will be administering the oath on the 30 legal practitioners recently elevated to the prestigious rank of Senior Advocates of Nigeria at the main courtroom of the Supreme Court on Monday, September 18, 2017 as part of the events lined up to flag-off the commencement of the 2017/2018 legal year.

“It will be recalled that the court commenced its annual vacation after a remarkably successful 2016/2017 legal year on Monday, 17 July, 2017. The programmes lined up to mark the new legal year are billed to start by 10am.”