Posted by By GODWIN TSA Abuja on
A total of 17 lawyers including a woman and two academicians have been elevated to the prestigious rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) by the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC).
A total of 17 lawyers including a woman and two academicians have been elevated to the prestigious rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) by the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC).
The new SANs as announced by the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, Alhaji Usman Musale, are; Julius Dele Adesina, Babatunde Ademola Ajibade, Solomon Ukaegbu Akuma, Augustine Oyarekhua Alegeh, Sunday Ibrahim Ameh, Ahizechukwu Benbella Anachebe, John Olusola Baiyeshea and Paul Erokoro.
Others are Miannaya Aja Essien, Olagoke Oluyemi Fakunle, Ocholi James, Uchenna Gregory Nwokedi, (the only woman) Francis Chukwuemeka Ofodile, Okunade Israel Olorundare and Okechukwu Emmanuel Wali.
The academics who made the list are Professor Charles Udenze Ilegbune and Professor Musa Yakubu.
The Chief Registrar explained that a total of 144 lawyers applied for the conferment of the rank out of which 17 were successful.
According to him, out of the 144 that applied, 121 of them were advocates while 23 were academics.
The Chief Registrar said that the process which led to the selection of the 17 lawyers was 'more open, more transparent and more rigorous."
According to him, all the applicants were carried along during the selection process and that some of them were allowed to clarify issues concerning their applications unlike in the past where there were no such privileges.
He said that the innovations in the year's selection process were made possible by the new guidelines adopted by the LPPC.
Alhaji Musale said that no date has been fixed for the swearing in of the new SANs. He, however, said that the swearing-in would take place early next December.
Visitation to lawyers' chambers is one of the new guidelines approved last December under the leadership of the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Alfa Modibo Belgore, for the conferment of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria on deserving members of the profession.
In the past, the committee relied exclusively on the information contained in lawyers' applications for selecting those who merited the award.
The new guidelines were also the committee's response to the criticisms of the process for selecting the beneficiaries of the awards.
One of such criticisms was lack of transparency in the process.
Another innovation in the new guidelines is the payment of application fees by applicants. who are now required to pay N200, 000.00.
They are also expected to do three probono (free) cases.
Other requirements are that an applicant must provide particular of 10 cases handled by him at a superior court or before an arbitration which he considered to be of particular difficulty or sensitivity.
Three of the cases should have been argued at the Supreme Court. Applicants are also encouraged to submit recent cases handled by them.