• 20 ADVOCATES, 47 ACADEMICS DROPPED

By Francis Ekeh, Abuja

The Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC) has unveiled 62 senior lawyers who made the coveted rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria for the 2022 preferment programme.

A breakdown of the list showed that the lawyers comprised 9 academics and 53 advocates.

The number is 10 shorter of the 72 senior lawyers that were conferred with the new rank last year.

A total 67 of the 129 lawyers who made the 2022 shortlist also fell by rejected

Of the 73 shortlisted advocates, 53 were conferred with the rank while 20 did not make the list.

Most of the shortlisted applicants who did not make the final list came from the Academics Category where 47 were dropped, leaving only nine of the 56 applicants originally shortlisted by the LPPC.

A total of 137 lawyers were shortlisted for the rank in 2020 — with 116 advocate applicants and 21 academic applicants.

Just as in 2021, 72 senior lawyers made the list of successful candidates while 65 fell by the way side.

The Committee also made public its plan to publish new Guidelines for the 2023 application season.

Overtime, the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN) has been vocal in calling for an overhaul of the awards regime in order to restore the rank to its glory days.

BOSAN had also urged that the awards should be paused while the review subsisted.

Among the new SAN-designates are three Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) prosecutors, namely Messrs Wahab Shittu, Sylvanus Tahir, and Rotimi Oyedepo.

Others are former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, Prof. Joy Ngozi Ezeilo; former Oyo State Attorney-General, Mr. Mutalubi Ojo Adebayo; University of Lagos scholar, Prof. Gabriel Amokaye, as well as Messrs Andrew Malgwi, Godson Ugochukwu, and Oladipo Akanmu Tolani.

A statement by the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court and Secretary of the LPPC, Hajo Sarki Bello, said the SAN-designates would be inaugurated on 21st November, 2022.

The full text of the statement reads:

29th September, 2022

PRESS RELEASE
The Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC) under the chairmanship of His Lordship, Hon Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, at its 154th plenary session held today 29th September, 2022, has approved the elevation of 62 legal practitioners to the Inner Bar.

The rank of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) is awarded as a mark of excellence to members of the legal profession who have distinguished themselves as advocates and academics.

The swearing – in ceremony of the 62 legal practitioners is scheduled to take place on Monday the 21st day of November 2022.

The new appointees for year 2022 exercise are:

ADVOCATE APPOINTEES (IN ORDER OF SENIORITY AT THE BAR)

1. MOHAMMED ABDULLAHI ABUBAKAR, ESQ.
2. JOHNSON TARIGHO OMOPHE UGBODUMA, ESQ.
3. LAWRENCE SUNDAY OKO-JAJA, ESQ.
4. CHRISTOPHER AGBOMEIRHE SUNDAY OSHOMEGIE, ESQ.
5. SANUSI OLUGBENGA SAI’D, ESQ.
6. WAHAB KUNLE SHITTU, ESQ.
7. EMMANUEL IDEMUDIA OBOH, ESQ.
8. DIRI SAID MOHAMMED, ESQ.
9. OLADIPO AKANMU TOLANI, ESQ.
10. AYODEJI OYEWOLE OMOTOSO, ESQ
11. CHIJIOKE OGBONNA ERONDU, ESQ.
12. AJOKU KINGSLEY OBINNA, ESQ.
13. YAKUBU MAIKASUWA, ESQ.
14. HENRY ESHIJONAM OMU, ESQ.
15. DAGOGO ISRAEL IBOROMA, ESQ.
16. JOSEPH ADEMU AKUBO, ESQ.
17. GOZIE BERTRAND OBI, ESQ.
18. INAM AKPADIAGHA WILSON ESQ.
19. ABUBAKAR BATURE SULU-GAMBARI, ESQ.
20. ABIOYE ARAOYE OLOYEDE ASANIKE, ESQ.
21. SYLVANUS TAHIRU, ESQ.
22. BOLARINWA ELIJAH AIDI, ESQ.
23. TONYE TOMBERE JENEWARI KRUKRUBO, ESQ.
24. ADEREMI MOSHOOD BASHUA, ESQ.
25. KOLAPO OLUGBENGA KOLADE, ESQ.
26. SAMUEL PETER KARGBO, ESQ.
27. IFEANYICHUKWU SYLVESTER OBIAKOR, ESQ.
28. OLASOJI OLAIYA OLOWOLAFE, ESQ.
29. MUTALUBI OJO ADEBAYO, ESQ.
30. VICTOR ODAFE OGUDE, ESQ.
31. SULAYMAN OLAWALE IBRAHIM, ESQ.
32. MUMINI ISHOLA HANAFI, ESQ.
33. TANKO TANKO ASHANG, ESQ.
34. DAMIAN OHAKWE OKORO, ESQ.
35. ANDREW MWAJIM MALGWI, ESQ.
36. ETUKWU ONAH, ESQ.
37. ADEBORO LATEEF ADAMSON, ESQ.
38. BANKOLE JOEL AKOMOLAFE, ESQ.
39. KELECHI CHINEDUM OBI, ESQ.
40. ANDREW OSEMEDUA ODUM, ESQ.
41. OKORO OKECHUKWU EDWIN, ESQ.
42. GODSON CHUKWUDI UGOCHUKWU, ESQ.
43. STEVEN ONYECHI ONONYE, ESQ.
44. IKANI KANU AGABI, ESQ.
45. MUSTAPHA SHABA IBRAHIM, ESQ.
46. MUIZUDEEN YUNUS ABDULLAHI, ESQ.
47. MAGAJI MATO IBRAHIM, ESQ.
48. SUNUSI MUSA, ESQ.
49. OLADOYIN OLUSEYI AWOYALE, ESQ.
50. ROTIMI ISEOLUWA OYEDEPO, ESQ.
51. CHUKWUDUBEM BONAVENTURE ANYIGBO, ESQ.
52. LUKMAN OYEBANJI FAGBEMI, ESQ.
53. MICHAEL JONATHAN NUMA, ESQ.
    ACADEMIC APPOINTEES (IN ORDER OF SENIORITY AT THE BAR)
54. PROF. KATHLEEN EBELECHUKWU OKAFOR
55. PROF. MUHAMMED TAOFEEQ ABDULRAZAQ
56. PROF. AMOKAYE OLUDAYO GABRIEL
57. PROF. ISMAIL ADENIYI OLATUNBOSUN
58. PROF. ABDULLAHI SHEHU ZURU
59. PROF. JOY NGOZI EZEILO
60. ASS/PROF. THEODORE BALA MAIYAKI
61. PROF. OLAIDE ABASS GBADAMOSI
62. ASS/PROF. CHIMEZIE KINGSLEY OKORIE