A senior lawyer, Silas Joseph Onu, and the Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Ikorodu Branch, Olajide Abiodun, N.P., who also serves as the Chairman of the Body of Vice Chairmen (BOVC), have raised concerns over the Department of State Services’ (DSS) alleged screening of lawyers recently cleared for elevation to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/idrinstitute.png")
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Basil-Momodu-Esq1.png")
A source from the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC) told TheNigeriaLawyer that the SSS screening is part of the regulatory process. When asked how this was included, the source admitted, “I don’t know.” However, some lawyers argue that this screening should have been conducted before the release of the final list.
In a post obtained by TheNigeriaLawyer across several lawyers’ platforms, Onu described the development as a dangerous precedent and an erosion of the legal profession’s independence.
“I have just realized that all our recently cleared Senior Advocates of Nigeria for 2025 are being further subjected to final screening by the DSS. I am worried because this is entirely a professional privilege that has nothing to do with public office. If the DSS begins to subject the elevation of lawyers to the rank of SAN, soon they’ll begin to block entrance to the Supreme Court to stop anyone that has not been cleared by them.
The NBA is silent on this gradual erosion of professional independence. Are Senior Advocates public officers? This attempt to muscle the Bar must be resisted now, or soon we will be a mere black-and-white suit-wearing clerks walking about courtrooms with empty briefcases.”
— Silas Joseph Onu
Echoing the same concern, Abiodun in a statement titled “Why the DSS Must Stop Screening Prospective Senior Advocates of Nigeria” insisted that the DSS has no legal basis to vet candidates for the prestigious rank.
He stressed that the rank of SAN is a professional recognition governed by the Legal Practitioners Act and the guidelines of the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC), not by the executive arm of government or its agencies.
“The DSS is an intelligence agency under the executive. It has no legal basis to interfere in who is conferred with the rank of SAN unless there is a specific allegation of a crime that falls under its jurisdiction. This so-called final screening is an administrative overreach and a dangerous encroachment into the affairs of the judiciary and the legal profession. If we allow this to stand, tomorrow the DSS may insist on screening candidates for appointment as judges or even lawyers before they can appear in the Supreme Court,” Abiodun warned.
He further argued that SANs are not public officers but remain legal practitioners in private or public practice, and as such, the DSS clearance has no legal or logical justification.
Both lawyers called on the NBA, the LPPC, and the Body of Benchers to resist what they described as a creeping attempt by the executive to interfere with the Bar and undermine its independence.
“The independence of the legal profession is one of the last safeguards of democracy and the rule of law in Nigeria. If the Bar is cowed or made to operate under the watch of security agencies, justice will suffer and the people will be the losers,” Abiodun added.
“History of Rivers State Judiciary: A Compendium of Personalities on the Bench.” Authored by Ampim Gogo Blankson, Esq., Deputy Director at the Rivers State Ministry of Justice, in collaboration with the Rivers State Judiciary 💰 Cover Price: ₦20,000.00 (Twenty Thousand Naira) Bukky Law Books, Rivers State High Court Complex, Moscow Road, Port Harcourt – 📞 08034868754📞 08034729738📞 Enquiries: ______________________________________________________________________ Law Practice Kit (Second Edition) And Legal Luminaries Series 2 Unveiled 
Authored by Abdulrasheed Ibrahim, LL.M, Notary Public Law Practice Kit (Second Edition) and Legal Luminaries Series 2 📚 For Enquiries and Orders, Contact: 📞 08055476823, 📞 08164683735, 📞 08033855230 ___________________________________________________________________ [Now Available] -- From Crime Scene To Courtroom: An Authoritative Legal Handbook On Police Investigations 
In this authoritative work, Basil Momodu Esq., titled Police Investigations in Nigeria Through the Cases 📖 Available now Call 07051822705 or any of the recommended independent booksellers listed hereunder. ______________________________________________________________________ [A MUST HAVE] Evidence Act Demystified With Recent And Contemporary Cases And Materials
