A group of Nigerian non-litigation lawyers has petitioned the State Security Service (SSS) and the Public Complaints Commission (PCC), accusing the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Kabir Eniola Akanbi, of using his office to persecute lawyers associated with the controversial “Blue Silks” rank of Senior Counsel of Nigeria (SCN).
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The petitions were filed by the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP) and a faction of the Nigerian Law Society (NLS), following an earlier petition submitted to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) by Akanbi against NLS Executive Secretary, Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja, and other lawyers conferred with the Blue Silks rank. Meanwhile, Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja is known for writing faceless petitions with no point.
Akanbi, by virtue of his position as Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, also serves as Secretary of the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC), the body responsible for conferring the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
The Blue Silks initiative was introduced by ALDRAP and the NLS as an alternative professional distinction for lawyers who do not engage substantially in courtroom litigation and who, according to the organisations, are disadvantaged by the existing criteria for the conferment of the SAN rank.
The initiative has, however, been opposed by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the LPPC, resulting in a widening legal and professional dispute over whether the organisations are entitled to create and confer the alternative rank.
In their petition to the SSS, signed by Jaja, the lawyers sought what they described as the agency’s “urgent intervention” to prevent a potential breakdown of law and order arising from the actions of the Supreme Court Chief Registrar.
They accused Akanbi of refusing to respect the sub judice principle while litigation concerning the Blue Silks rank remained pending before the courts.
“We write to respectfully request the Director-General of the Department of State Security Services to intervene to call Mr. Kabir Eniola Akanbi, Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, to stop the abuse of the powers conferred upon him by virtue of his office as the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court of Nigeria,” the petition stated.
The lawyers argued that once parties have submitted a dispute to a court for determination, they should refrain from taking steps capable of prejudicing the pending proceedings or resorting to self-help.
According to the petitioners, Akanbi allegedly used the authority of his office against ALDRAP and NLS members despite pending cases concerning their right to create and use the Blue Silks distinction.
They accused him of violating Rule 33 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners, 2023, as well as provisions of Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution.
“Specifically, Mr. Kabir Eniola Akanbi has repeatedly been in violation of Rule 33 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners, 2023, and Section 36(9) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, ever since we commenced lawsuits against him,” the petition stated.
The petitioners also complained about publications allegedly made by Akanbi in his capacity as LPPC Secretary in February and July 2026 concerning Jaja, ALDRAP and lawyers associated with the SCN rank.
They described the publications as prejudicial and contended that they were issued while related proceedings remained before the Court of Appeal in Abuja and the National Industrial Court.
According to them, the central question in the pending litigation is whether Jaja and other members of ALDRAP and the NLS enjoy a constitutional right to freedom of association that permits them to create and confer the Blue Silks rank of Senior Counsel of Nigeria.
The petitioners maintained that the distinction was conceived as the equivalent of a professional fellowship for non-litigation lawyers and was not intended to represent the statutory SAN rank.
They further argued that no Nigerian court had, at the time of the publications complained of, declared the Blue Silks rank illegal.
The lawyers relied in part on a January 27, 2026 judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja delivered by Justice Mohammed Garba Umar, which they interpreted as limiting the regulatory authority of the NBA and LPPC to matters specifically provided for under the Legal Practitioners Act.
“In the said judgment, it was stated that the NBA and by extension the LPPC could only regulate Nigerian lawyers on matters that are specifically stated inside the Legal Practitioners Act, 1962. This means that the NBA and LPPC can regulate the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) because it is contained within the Legal Practitioners Act, 1962,” the petition stated.
That interpretation forms part of the petitioners’ legal position and remains subject to the outcome of the various proceedings surrounding the dispute.
They also questioned Akanbi’s involvement in the disciplinary process, arguing that because of his official position within the Supreme Court and LPPC structure, his petition against the affected lawyers raised concerns about fair hearing.
In a separate petition to the Public Complaints Commission, ALDRAP and the NLS faction accused the Chief Registrar of maladministration and administrative injustice and again asked that he be directed to desist from what they described as an abuse of official powers.
“We write to respectfully request the Public Complaints Commission to intervene to call Mr. Kabir Eniola Akanbi, Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, to stop the abuse of the powers conferred upon him by virtue of his office,” the petition stated.
The groups also argued that non-litigation practitioners constitute a substantial portion of Nigeria’s legal profession but have historically been unable to qualify for the SAN rank because of criteria heavily weighted towards courtroom advocacy.
The petition claimed that 72 per cent of about 213,000 qualified Nigerian lawyers are non-litigation practitioners and said the Blue Silks initiative was conceived as a “compensatory scheme” for such lawyers. The figures were presented by the petitioners as part of their case.
They further relied on a December 2023 judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, delivered by Justice Gladys Olotu, which they said affirmed the constitutional freedom of Nigerian lawyers to form professional associations, including bodies bearing names such as the Nigerian Law Society.
The petitioners acknowledged that the judgment is the subject of an appeal and urged both the NBA and Akanbi to await the final determination of the pending cases rather than pursue what they described as extra-judicial or prejudicial measures against lawyers involved in the litigation.
They maintained that participation in the Blue Silks scheme is voluntary and insisted that the courts, rather than professional officials or competing associations, should ultimately determine the legality of the initiative.
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