By TAIYE AGBAJE and CHINYERE ONUORAH

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday dismissed a suit seeking an order by applicants to confer the rank of a Blue Silk on legal practitioners in Nigeria as alternative to the rank of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

Justice James Omotosho, in a judgement, held that the applicants’ suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/421/2026, was without merit.

“The argument by the applicants that they have a right to freedom of assembly and association does not come into play here.

“The legal profession is not like joining a political party wherein one can jump from party to party.

“There is only one legal profession in Nigeria duly recognised by statute, thus a person cannot decide to form his own legal profession as same would be contrary to the law and thus void.

“This therefore means that the acts of the applicants in seeking to award rank of Blue Silk on any legal practitioner in Nigeria is totally void and unrecognised by law,” he said.

According to the judge, the actions of the applicants is totally against laid down law and regulations guiding the legal profession in Nigeria.

“The applicants cannot hide under fundamental rights to breach statutory provisions.

“This court will not allow it.

“The applicants have failed to establish the breach of their fundamental rights to freedom of association and right to fair hearing.

“The applicants have the burden to establish breach of their fundamental rights but have utterly failed to do so.

“Their claim is therefore ungrantable and their suit will be dismissed.

“This court will also follow up the decision in this matter with a consequential order which it is empowered to do and give effect to this judgment,” the judge said, citing a previous Supreme Court decision.

Justice Omotosho, therefore, declared that only the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC) is the legally recognised body with the powers to confer the rank of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) on deserving legal practitioners in the country.

The judge also made an order of perpetual injunction, restraining the applicants from conferring on any legal practitioner the rank of Blue Silk or any such related ranks which is not in accordance with the clear provisions of the Legal Practitioners Act.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the applicants; the Incorporated Trustees of the Association of Legislative Drafting And Advocacy Practitioners and Dr Tonye Jaja, had filed the suit.

The applicants, through their lawyer, named the Incorporated Trustees of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and Dr Mobolaji Ojibara, General Secretary of Incorporated Trustees of NBA, as 1st and 2nd respondents.

They also listed Mr Kabir Akanbi, Secretary of LPPC; Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC) and Legal Practitioners’ Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) as 3rd to 5th respondents respectively.

The originating motion, dated and filed on March 2, sought seven reliefs.

“An order of perpetual injunction against the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th respondents and their officials from interfering or threatening to drag the 2nd applicant (Jaja) and or 1st applicant before the 5th respondent (LPCD) on the grounds of the Blue Silks rank.”

They sought a N50 million jointly and severally by the 1st to 4th respondents as compensation for the breach of the applicants’ fundamental rights.

The duo, who sought a public apology published in two national dailies by the 1st to 4th respondents for the violation of their fundamental rights, also sought a N5 million as cost of instituting the suit.

NAN observes that the applicants filed the suit following a disciplinary notice sent to Jaja by Ojibara for promoting an unlawful and unrecognised “privileged rank” purported for legal practitioners.

The applicants had argued that the Blue Silks rank was not mentioned in the Legal Practitioners Act, 1962 and was not within the regulatory powers of the respondents.

They stated that without hearing from them, the 1st respondent had concluded on their guilt and that the 1st and 2nd respondents even published a notice which affected the rights of the applicants.

They, therefore, claimed that their fundamental rights to freedom of association was being threatened by the respondents and urged the court to intervene on their behalf.

But the respondents in their separate counter affidavits prayed the court to dismiss the suit in its entirety.

They argued that the applicants had no power whatsoever to accord any rank of Blue Silk on any legal practitioner in Nigeria as they were not statutorily recognised to do so, among other arguments. (NAN)