Blue Silks: The Nigerian Legal Society has claimed that the Nigerian Bar Association has allowed the period for appealing a Federal High Court judgment relied upon by the NLS in support of its Senior Counsel of Nigeria rank to expire.
The position was stated by the Executive Secretary of the NLS, Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja, SCN, while commenting on the continuing controversy surrounding the organisation’s so-called “Blue Silks” designation.
According to Jaja, a judgment delivered by Justice Mohammed Umar Garba of the Federal High Court in Abuja on January 27, 2026, has not been appealed and therefore remains binding unless set aside by a competent appellate court.
The NLS interprets the judgment as supporting its contention that neither the NBA nor another professional body may regulate lawyers in respect of matters not expressly provided for under the Legal Practitioners Act.
The NLS has introduced the title Senior Counsel of Nigeria, with recipients popularly referred to as “Blue Silks,” as an alternative professional distinction for qualifying non-litigation lawyers within its membership.
The NBA has previously opposed the designation and questioned its legality, maintaining that the recognised rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria operates under the statutory framework administered through the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee.
Jaja now argues that the NBA’s failure to challenge the January judgment within the prescribed period means that the decision remains available to the NLS as legal support for its position.
Importantly, the assertion that the NBA has lost its right of appeal is presently the position advanced by the NLS. It is not, on the material reviewed by LegalLinkz, a new pronouncement by the Court of Appeal determining the NBA’s appellate rights.
That distinction matters.
Questions relating to extension of time, competence of an appeal and the precise effect of existing Federal High Court judgments are ultimately matters for judicial determination where properly brought before a court.
The wider controversy nevertheless requires clarity. Competing titles and competing assertions of regulatory authority within the legal profession can create uncertainty over professional standards, public representation and the statutory framework governing legal practitioners.
A definitive appellate determination may ultimately provide the clearest route to resolving the competing interpretations
Source: NewsNGR
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