"The Titles of "Mr", and "Barrister" and"Solicitor" Do Not Have Statutory Backing Under the Legal Practitioners Act, 1962, Does That Render them Illegal?
Dear Fellow Nigerian Lawyers,
I just woke up to find several messages on my WhatsApp phone number.
Let me provide some clarification.
Both the Nigerian Bar Association-NBA and the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee-LPPC have wrongly alleged that the Blue Silks rank of Senior Counsel of Nigeria-SCN does not have statutory backing.
This is incorrect.
Section 40 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 provides the legal basis for the Blue Silks.
In December 2023, Hon. Justice Gladys Olotu delivered a judgment to reaffirm that Nigerian lawyers have the constitutional right and freedom to choose to come together and be registered as an incorporated trustee of the Nigerian Law Society-NLS. She ordered the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to register the Nigerian Law Society-NLS.
That judgment stated clearly that the constitutional right of the Nigerian Law Society-NLS does not in any way impinge upon the statutory rights of the Nigerian Bar Association-NBA.
Again, on 27th January 2026 Hon. Justice Mohammed Garba Umar delivered another landmark judgment wherein he stated that the NBA and by extension the LPPC cannot regulate matters that are not mentioned inside the Legal Practitioners Act, 1962.
Since the Blue Silks rank of Senior Counsel of Nigeria-SCN is not mentioned inside the Legal Practitioners Act, 1962, therefore, neither the NBA and the LPPC cannot regulate it.
On a final note, the Nigerian Law Society-NLS, the Body of Senior Counsel of Nigeria (BOSCON) and ALDRAP are all incorporated trustees and validly registered organisations under both the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 and other relevant laws just like the Incorporated Trustees of the Nigerian Bar Association-NBA.
Just as the President of the NBA has recently stated, it is only the incorporated trustees that can regulate the internal affairs of such organisations and not external individuals or entities.
The Blue Silks rank of Senior Counsel of Nigeria-SCN is a rank of legal excellence for non-litigation Nigerian lawyers who are members of the Nigerian Law Society-NLS, it is 100% the internal affairs of the Nigerian Law Society-NLS as assessed by BOSCON and cannot be regulated by individuals or entities who are not members of the NLS or BOSCON.
E-Signed,
Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja, SCN
Chief Blue Silk of Nigeria!!!
+2349056760119
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