SAN Conferment: Why recipients ignored NBA

The 30 new Senior Advocate of Nigeria SANs, recently conferred with the exalted rank, called the bluff of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA when they attended last Friday’s official ceremony for the conferment of the rank at the Supreme Court.
The event which took place in Abuja, was, however, boycotted by the Body of Benchers and many other legal practitioners in the country.
The ceremony, the last official assignment performed by the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Aloysius Katsina- Alu, who retired Sunday after attaining the mandatory 70 years retirement age for judicial officers on that cadre, was attended by the new SANs, their friends and well wishers.

Cross section of new Senior Advocates of Nigeria at their inauguration in Abuja

It will be recalled that the National Executive Council NEC of the NBA had on August 21, at its Port Harcourt Rivers State, just concluded annual conference, resolved that “the Bar shall boycott the ceremony and all her members are advised to stay away, including those to be conferred the rank.
“Any legal practitioner, who attends the ceremony will not be referred to by member of the NBA with any rank he possesses and if in any NBA body, such as the Body of Benchers, will lose all privileges and be stripped of membership of any committee or body that the NBA participates in. His name will in addition be placed perpetually in the Roll of Dishonour,” it added.
Signs that the resolution rattled the immediate past CJN was a statement by the Deputy Director of Information at the Supreme Court, Mr Festus Akanbi, who fired back, insisting on August 23, that “the newly appointed Senior Advocates of Nigeria will be sworn-in, as earlier announced, August 26, 2011, at a special Court Session of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.”
Following feelers that the recipients of the rank might attend the ceremony, the NBA at its Annual General Meeting, on August 24, renewed its earlier directive to affected members to shun the ceremony.

Show of
solidarity

Vanguard Law and Human Rights gathered that even as at August 24, after the NBA had made it clear that the recipients should not attend the ceremony, some of them (recipients) actually visited the immediate past CJN in a show of solidarity, a clear indication that the directive would be disregarded
In his speech at the event, Justice Katsina- Alu reiterated his commitment to the judiciary and lashed at his critics. He described the event as “unique,” urging recipients to refrain from “engaging in useless arguments” or sell their integrity and conscience at any price.(Vanguard Newspaper)