By Abdullahi M. Gulloma
Abuja
The Legal Practitioners’ Privilege Committee (LPPC), has unveiled a list of candidates to be considered for the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) for 2017.
A statement by the secretary of LPPC, Ahmed Gambo Saleh, who also serve as the Registrar of Supreme Court, said 91 lawyers were screened for this year’s SAN award, bringing them another step closer to joining the elite club of legal practitioners.
Saleh gave a breakdown of the candidates as comprising 67 practising lawyers and 24 legal scholars.
Akinlolu Osinbajo, a brother of Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo was amongst those who made the list from practising lawyers category; while Bolaji Owasanoye of the Presidential Anti-corruption Panel was picked from the academia.
The number of shortlisted candidates this year rose sharply over the number considered in the previous year.
The committee shortlisted 50 candidates in the 2016 exercise, but eventually cleared 22 and conferred them with the award, which is the highest for the Nigerian bar.
Of the 124 applications received in 2015, the LPPC elevated only 20 Nigerians with senior advocate status.
More than 400 Nigerians have been conferred with the award since it began in 1973 with the elevation of the late legal luminary, Rotimi Williams, as the first awardee.
The LPPC said it would welcome contributions from the general public in further determining the character of the individuals named for the award.