THE Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC) has shortlisted 130 candidates for the award of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
The list includes a former federal lawmaker, West-Idahosa Ehiogie and the Law editor of Thisday Newspaper, Onikpeko Briathwaite.
The Acting Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and Secretary of the LPPC, Mrs Hajo Bello, explained that the shortlisted candidates emerged from both the advocate filtration stages and academic pre-qualification exercise, “preparatory to the award of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria for the year 2021.
Last year the committee had shortlisted 137 lawyers which was the highest number so far to be nominated.
A breakdown of the list showed that out of the 130 shortlisted for the year 2021, 95 are of the Advocate category, while the remaining 35 are of the academic category.
Some in the Advocate category are; Offia Ota, Nwafor-Orizu Orji, Adeniyi Ademuyiwa, Ovrawah Ogaga, Abubakar Adamu and West-Idahosa Ehiogie.
Among those in the academic category are; Onikepo Braithwaite, Thisady Law Page Editor, Professor Oyewo Toriola, Professor Omorogbe Osayame, Dr Okafor Ebelechukwu, Professor Sholanke Olusegun, Ojukwu Okechukwu and Dr Agbonika Achor amongst others.
Acting CR of the Supreme Court however informed the public that they are at liberty to comment on the integrity, reputation and competence of the shortlisted candidates.
“However, any complaint(s) presented to the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee must be accompanied with a verifying affidavit deposed to before a court of record.
“Please be informed that in relation to paragraph 12(2) of the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee Guidelines 2018, 12 copies of such comments or compliants must be received at the office of the Legal Practitioners’Privileges Committee not later than 4pm on Tuesday September 28, 2021”, she said.