Since the late Chief F.R.A Williams was first conferred with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in 1975, the list of SANs has moved up to 693 as of 2021, THE WHISTLER can report.
As contained in an official diary of the Federal High Court seen by our correspondent, 621 SANs have been sworn-in from 1975 to 2020 with about 52 of them now deceased.
THE WHISTLER reported that 72 legal practitioners were conferred with SAN rank on December 8, 2021 by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Ibrahim Tanko at the Supreme Court Premises, Abuja.
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By the recent additions, the 72 that were added to the 621 others put the total figure of SANs in the country at 693.
Among the senior lawyers conferred with the title in 12/1/1978, the likes of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Chief R.A. Fani-Kayode, E.A Molajo, Kehinde Sofola and Dr. Augustine Nnamani are deceased.
Those confered with the SAN rank are usually decided by the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC) and a stand out legal profession is one of the yardstick that guides the body’s decision.
By percentage, the total number of SANs is still a small fraction when compared to more than 190,000 lawyers that have graduated from the Nigeria Law School, since inception.