Blue Silks: Lawyers petition DSS, PCC over alleged persecution by Supreme court chief registrar

Nigerian non-litigation lawyers have petitioned the Department of State Services, DSS, and the Office of the Ombudsman, Public Complaints Commission, PCC, alleging persecution by the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Mr. Kabir Akanbi, over the Blue Silks rank.

The petitions by the non-litigation lawyers, under the aegis of Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners, ALDRAP, and the Nigerian Law Society, NLS, followed an earlier petition lodged before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, LPDC, by Akanbi against Executive Secretary of the NLS, Dr Tonye Clinton Jaja and lawyers who were conferred with the Blue Silks rank.

Akanbi, by virtue of his position as Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, is also the Secretary of the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee, LPPC, a body which confers the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, title on lawyers in the country.

The Blue Silks rank, introduced by ALDRAP and NLS as an alternative to the SAN title for non-litigation lawyers, is being opposed by the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, and the LPPC.

In the petition to the DSS, signed by Executive Secretary of the NLS, Jaja, the non-litigation lawyers requested the "urgent intervention" of the agency "to prevent a potential breakdown of law and order and national security by the actions of Mr. Kabir Eniola Akanbi, Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court of Nigeria who has repeatedly refused to abide by the sub-judice rule".

The lawyers explained that the Supreme Court had pronounced that as soon as parties to any lawsuit have submitted their matter to any court of law for adjudication, both litigants, especially those that are incumbent public office holders, are prohibited from resorting to self-help by using their powers as public officials to gain unfair advantage, and both parties must await the final judgment of the court.

They noted that Akanbi had been using the powers of his office to persecute members of ALDRAP and NLS.

"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.

"Specifically, Mr. Kabir Eniola Akanbi has repeatedly being 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.

"Whenever any lawsuit is instituted against any lawyer, they are prohibited from publication of prejudicial statements before the final judgement of delivered.

"In disobedience to this hallowed principle of sub-judice, on 13th February and in July 2026, Mr. Kabir Eniola Akanbi in his capacity as the Secretary of the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee-LPPC, published in several national newspapers prejudicial statements against Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja, and the incorporated trustees of the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP).

"This is a blatant violation of both Sections 36(1), (9) and 36(12)of the Nigerian Constitution because by virtue of that publication Mr. Kabir Eniola Akanbi is seeking the prosecution of Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja, SCN and 13 other lawyers at the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) without waiting for final judgment by both the Court of Appeal Abuja Division and the National Industrial Court of Nigeria respectively.

"The major issue for determination in those lawsuits is whether Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja SCN and other lawyers, members of ALDRAP and the Nigerian Law Society (NLS), do not enjoy the fundamental rights to freedom of association to confer upon themselves the Blue Silks rank of Senior Counsel of Nigeria-SCN. This is the equivalent of Fellowship of the said ALDRAP and the Nigerian Law Society (NLS) for non-litigation lawyers," parts of the petition read.

It added that, contrary to the alleged "prejudicial" publications of both the officials of the NBA and Akanbi, "at the time of their publication, no court of law within Nigeria has delivered any judgment to proclaim that the Blue Silks rank was illegal".

The non-litigation lawyers, in the petition, noted that a judgment delivered by Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on 27th January 2026, by implication, gave impetus to the Blue Silks rank of Senior Counsel of Nigeria, SCN.

"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 added.

They further argued that it was a gross violation of the principle of fair hearing for Akanbi to file the petition, since, by virtue of his position as Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, he is directly or indirectly a member of the LPDC.

In a separate petition, the non-litigation lawyers sought the urgent intervention of the Public Complaints Commission, PCC, "to prevent a series of acts of maladministration and administrative injustices by the actions of Mr. Kabir Eniola Akanbi, Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court of Nigeria who has repeatedly refused to abide by the sub-judice rule since February 2026".

Parts of the petition read, "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 as the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

"Specifically, Mr. Kabir Eniola Akanbi has repeatedly being 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 further stated that it is on record that 72 percent of 213,000 qualified Nigerian lawyers are currently non-litigation lawyers who have chosen not to engage in full-time courtroom litigation practice. It added that since 1975, this category of lawyers have routinely been excluded from application and conferment of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, because the criteria for conferment excludes them.

They noted that the introduction of the Blue Silks rank of Senior Counsel of Nigeria was "intended to provide a compensatory scheme for non-litigation Nigerian lawyers".

Noting that the application for and conferment of the Blue Silks rank is a voluntary scheme, the petition added, "In December 2023, Hon. Justice Gladys Olotu of the Federal High Court Abuja delivered a judgment that stated that based upon Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution, Nigerian lawyers are free to form associations of lawyers and register these by any names such as the Nigerian Law Society (NLS) and this freedom of association does not in any way jeopardise or infringe upon the rights of the Incorporated Trustees of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

"This judgment is now the subject-matter of on-going litigation at the Court of Appeal. Both the NBA and Mr. Akanbi are advised to await the final judgment on these matters instead of taking extra-judicial and prejudicial statements by filing petitions against some of the same persons who are litigants against them in the courts of law."

Blue Silks: Lawyers petition DSS, PCC over alleged persecution by Supreme court chief registrar