CJN’s ban on ‘Barrister’ title, replacement with ‘Esquire’ not backed by law – Nigerian Law Society

The Nigerian Law Society has declared that the directive by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, banning the use of ‘Barrister’ and replacing it with ‘Esquire’ as the title for Nigerian lawyers, is not established by statutes.

The CJN had directed lawyers and court officials to, with immediate effect, stop using the title “Barrister” as a prefix to their names in all official engagements at the Supreme Court. The directive was contained in a memo dated July 13, 2026, and signed by the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, Kabir Akanbi.

According to the memo, which was addressed to legal practitioners, court registrars and other lawyers, the directive is part of efforts to uphold professional standards within the apex court.

Reacting to the development, the NLS, speaking through its Executive Director, Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja, explained that the Legal Practitioners Act, 1962, recognises the titles of Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria for all Nigerian lawyers who have been successfully called to the Bar.

“Using ‘Barrister’ as a title is a half-truth that leaves out the title of ‘Solicitor’. As an alternative title, the title of ‘Esquire’ or its abbreviated version ‘Esq.’ was to be used as the appropriate suffix by Nigerian lawyers in their official correspondences to the Supreme Court of Nigeria,” Jaja observed.

However, he noted that the CJN’s directive is not backed by the Legal Practitioners Act, 1962.

“The problem with this recommended title of ‘Esquire’, or even other alternatives ‘Barrister-At-Law’ or ‘Attorney-At-Law’ is that they do not appear inside the Legal Practitioners Act, 1962,” Jaja said, adding that the current rule of law is that neither the CJN, the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee, LPPC, nor the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, can regulate or impose upon Nigerian lawyers any matter that is not expressly stated inside the Legal Practitioners Act, 1962.

The Nigerian Legal Society stressed that it was wrong for the LPPC and Justice James Omotosho of the Abuja Federal High Court to insinuate that the Blue Silks rank of Senior Counsel of Nigeria, SCN, should be disregarded by Nigerian lawyers because it is not backed by the Legal Practitioners Act, 1962.

The NLS faulted the argument that, unlike the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, which is mentioned inside the Legal Practitioners Act, 1962, the Blue Silks rank is illegal because it is not explicitly stated inside the said statute.

Accusing the CJN and LPPC of hypocrisy for opposing the conferment of the Blue Silks on Nigerian lawyers, Jaja added, “The Blue Silks rank of Senior Counsel of Nigeria, SCN, is not stated inside the Legal Practitioners Act, 1962. This is the more reason why neither the NBA nor the LPPC has any powers of regulation over the Blue Silks rank as per the judgment of Hon. Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal High Court Abuja.

“It is an act of contradiction and hypocrisy for both the CJN and the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court of Nigeria to impose a ban upon a title ‘Barrister’ that is explicitly listed inside the Legal Practitioners Act, 1962 and replace it with alternatives that are not explicitly stated inside any statutes.

“Another level of the hypocrisy and contradiction which is manifestly discriminatory in violation of Section 42 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 is for the CJN and LPPC to permit Nigerian lawyers to use some titles (such as ‘Esquire’ for example) that do not appear in any statutes but attempt to ban the use of others (such as the Blue Silks rank of Senior Counsel of Nigeria-SCN).”

Jaja added that the rank of King’s Counsel, KC, which Nigeria inherited and adopted in the year 1975 as the title of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, is not established by any statute or legislation. According to him, the rank of King’s Counsel, which was modified as SAN in Nigeria, was established in the United Kingdom in the 1500s as a tradition wherein the King confers the rank upon outstanding lawyers, the first being Francis Bacon.

Arguing that all titles used by lawyers must not be established directly by statutes, Jaja pointed out that the Blue Silks rank of Senior Counsel of Nigeria, which is conferred by the Nigerian Law Society and the Body of Senior Counsel of Nigeria, BOSCON, is not directly established by statute but by guidelines established pursuant to Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution and Section 19 of the National Assembly Service Commission Act, 2014.