The Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun who is currently been screened by the Senate will on Monday, September 30, swear in 87 new Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN). The swearing-in ceremony, which forms part of the programmes lined up to formally herald the 2024/2025 legal year of the apex court, would hold at the main courtroom at the headquarters of the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court’s Director of Information, Dr. Festus Akande, made this known in a press statement made available to newsmen on Thursday. Our correspondent gathered that Justice Kekere-Ekun’s appointment as CJN was confirmed on Wednesday, September 25, by the Nigerian Senate, and this ceremony will mark her first official event of this kind in her new role. The Supreme Court, which went on it’s annual vacation on July 22, resumed sessions on September 23.
"The formal legal year ceremony is slated to commence at 10:00 AM in the main courtroom, with all stakeholders invited to participate in this significant event".
“In line with our age-long tradition, during the special court session, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, will deliver a state-of-the-judiciary address, with a view to highlighting the performance of the Supreme Court in particular, and the Nigerian Judiciary in general, in the 2023/2024 legal year.
“In the same vein, other leading stakeholders in the justice sector will present speeches bordering on the state of the justice sector of the country. These include: Hon. Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chairman of the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN), President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), amongst others,” a statement by the Director, Information and Public Relations, Supreme Court of Nigeria, Dr Festus Akande, read in part.
The Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee, on July 2, released the names of a total of 98 lawyers to be considered for the conferment of the prestigious rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria. On July 30, the LPPC, at its 164th plenary session under the leadership of the immediate past CJN, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, elevated 87 out of the 98 legal practitioners to the prestigious rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
The SAN title is an honorific designation conferred on legal practitioners in Nigeria with not less than ten years standing who have distinguished themselves in the legal profession, either as courtroom advocates or in legal academia.
