Court voids suit seeking to award blue silk rank on Nigerian lawyers

The Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed a lawsuit that sought to order the conferral of a “blue silk” rank on Nigerian legal practitioners as an alternative to the existing Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) designation. The case, identified as FHC/ABJ/CS/421/2026, was ruled without merit by Justice James Omotosho.

In his judgment, Justice Omotosho stated that the applicants’ claim of a right to freedom of assembly and association did not apply in this context. “The legal profession is not like a political party where one can switch affiliations at will,” he said. “There is only one legally recognised legal profession in Nigeria, and a person cannot unilaterally create a new one. Any attempt to award a Blue Silk rank is therefore void and unrecognised by law.”

The judge further explained that the applicants’ actions contravene the laws and regulations that govern the legal profession in Nigeria. “The applicants cannot invoke fundamental rights to override statutory provisions,” he added. “They have not demonstrated a breach of their rights to freedom of association or a fair hearing, and therefore their claim is ungrantable.”

Justice Omotosho also noted that the court would issue a consequential order to enforce this judgment, citing a prior Supreme Court decision. He confirmed that only the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC) has the statutory authority to confer the SAN rank on qualified lawyers.

Additionally, the judge issued a perpetual injunction preventing the applicants from conferring the Blue Silk rank—or any similar title—on any legal practitioner in violation of the Legal Practitioners Act.

The suit was brought by the Incorporated Trustees of the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners and Dr. Tonye Jaja. Their lawyer named the Incorporated Trustees of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and Dr. Mobolaji Ojibara, General Secretary of the NBA, as the first and second respondents. Mr. Kabir Akanbi, Secretary of the LPPC, and the Legal Practitioners’ Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) were listed as the third to fifth respondents.

The original motion, filed on March 2, sought seven reliefs, including a perpetual injunction against the first four respondents and their officials from interfering with or threatening the second applicant (Jaja) or the LPDC on the basis of a Blue Silk rank. The applicants also requested N50 million in joint and several compensation for alleged breaches of their fundamental rights, a public apology published in two national dailies, and N5 million to cover the cost of the suit.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the suit was filed after a disciplinary notice was issued to Jaja by Ojibara for promoting an unlawful and unrecognised “privileged rank” for legal practitioners. The applicants argued that the Blue Silk rank is not mentioned in the Legal Practitioners Act of 1962 and therefore falls outside the regulatory powers of the respondents. They claimed that the first respondent had declared them guilty without hearing and that a notice published by the first and second respondents infringed on their rights.

The respondents, in separate counter‑affidavits, asked the court to dismiss the suit entirely, asserting that the applicants had no statutory authority to award a Blue Silk rank to any lawyer in Nigeria.

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