Keyamo again fails to get SAN rank, Banire, others successful

Lagos lawyer Festus Keyamo again failed in his attempt to get the rank of the Senior
Advocate of Nigeria as the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee conferred the rank
on 21 lawyers on Friday.
The successful lawyers include, National Legal Adviser of the All Progressives Congress,
Dr. Muiz Banire, Dr. Oladapo Olanipekun, who is a son of a former President of the
Nigerian Bar Association, Chief Wole Olanipekun, and Emeka Etiaba, a son of a former
Deputy Governor of Anambra State, and Mrs. Virgy Etiaba.

Also benefited were Legal Services of the Independent National Electoral Commission,
Ibrahim Bawa; Edward Ashiekaa, Benson Nwankwo, Joseph Bamigboye, Patrick Okolo,
Prof. Maxwell Gidado, Dr. Tahir Mamman, and Dr. Akinpelu Onigbinde.
Others were Samuel Zibiri, Adeniyi Adegbonmire, Aderibigbe Adedeji, Emmanuel Aguma,
Abimbola Akeredolu, Olumuyiwa Akinboro, Gordy Uche, Uchechukwu Obi, Kehinde Eleja
and Prof. Paul Idornigie.
Gidado, Mamman, and Idornigie were of the academic category while the rest of the 18
lawyers were conferred with the rank as advocates.
The only female among the 21 successful lawyers, Akeredolu, was one of the three
females in a total of 124 applicants that applied for the rank when the application entry
opened in January.
Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court and Secretary to the LPPC, Ahmed Saleh,
announced the name of the successful lawyers at a press conference on Friday.
He said the rank was conferred on the 21 lawyers at the 119th general meeting of the
LPPC on Friday “as a mark of excellence to the under listed members of the legal
profession.”
The 21 lawyers were selected after an interview of the 50 shortlisted candidates held on
Tuesday and Wednesday.
Keyamo was shortlisted for the final interview last year but did not make the final
list. This made the second time he got so close to getting the rank after previous
attempts that failed to earn him an opportunity for the final interview.
Also, a former National Adviser of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olusola Oke, who
is now an APC member, was also shortlisted for this year’s final interview but failed to
make the final list.
The LPPC secretary, while briefing journalists, said 124 applicants applied for the rank.
Saleh said the 21 lawyers would be sworn in on September 21 at a special court
session marking the beginning of the 2015/2016 legal year.
The new SANs will join 408 lawyers both living and dead who had been conferred with
the rank since its inception in 1975.