‘SAN SSS screening controversy’: Odinkalu counters Akinboro

…notes ex-CJN Ariwoola instituted rule in 2022

…urges truly independent NBA

Chidi Odinkalu, a prominent rights lawyer and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), has challenged claims by former NBA General Secretary, Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, criticising the recent requirement for newly cleared Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) to undergo security screening by the Department of State Services (DSS).

Odinkalu emphasised that the rule mandating such screenings was instituted in 2022 by former Chief Justice Olukayode Ariwoola and has governed SAN conferments in 2022, 2023, and 2024 without objection.

He argued that Akinboro’s assertion that SAN elevation is solely a professional recognition and immune from security oversight is “factually inaccurate.”

In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), Odinkalu said: “These people are short of candour. The rules requiring screening of SAN candidates by DSS, EFCC, and ICPC were made by Olukayode Ariwoola in 2022. They governed SAN conferment in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Rather than object, folks saw them and applied.”

He also highlighted what he called a double standard, noting that judicial nominees similarly undergo DSS screening. He questioned why only SAN candidates are now being contested, asking, “Why are they objecting to the screening of SAN candidates by SSS? What do they have to hide?”

Odinkalu further stressed that claims of the legal profession’s independence in Nigeria are largely aspirational, pointing out that statutory regulatory bodies, including the General Council of the Bar, the Council of Legal Education, the Body of Benchers, the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, and the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee are government-regulated with built-in majorities.

“The Nigerian Bar Association is an NGO with statutory privileges,” Odinkalu said, calling for a truly independent Bar. “Those who enjoy the privilege of a parastatalized Bar should not mislead the public when they know better. It’s dishonest.

The former General Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, had strongly criticised the decision requiring newly cleared Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) to undergo DSS screening.

In a statement issued on Monday, Akinboro described the move as an intrusion into the independence of the legal profession, stressing that the conferment of the SAN rank is not a political appointment or an executive privilege but a professional recognition governed strictly by the Legal Practitioners Act and administered by the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC).

“The conferment of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria is not a political appointment, nor is it an executive privilege. It is a professional recognition rooted in the provisions of the Legal Practitioners Act and administered solely by the LPPC,” he stated.

He maintained that subjecting SAN designates to additional external vetting after the LPPC had already carried out rigorous scrutiny undermines due process and could erode the sanctity of the profession.

“The strength of the Bar has always been its autonomy. If we allow institutions outside the profession to insert themselves into its core processes without a legal basis, we open the door to a precedent that may one day compromise not only the rank of SAN but also the independence of our courts, our appointments, and ultimately, our ability to dispense justice without fear or favour,” Akinboro warned.

Calling on the Nigerian Bar Association, the LPPC, and the Body of Benchers to resist the development, Akinboro said silence would amount to acquiescence and a dangerous concession.

“The legal profession must resist every attempt to muscle the Bar. To remain silent is to acquiesce, and acquiescence today may cost us the profession we hold dear tomorrow,” he added.

While some lawyers initially supported his view, they also suggested that if he is eventually elected Bar President, he might not condemn the practice but instead justify why the DSS should be screening new Senior Advocates.

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