By Stephen Simon
A former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Chief Ebele Nwokoye, has been conferred with the Blue Silk rank of Senior Counsel of Nigeria (SCN), intensifying the controversy surrounding the alternative professional distinction for non-litigation lawyers.
Nwokoye, who served as NBA President from 1985 to 1987, received the rank on Tuesday at a ceremony in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State. He was also conferred with the title of National Patron of the Body of Senior Counsel of Nigeria (BOSCON), which assesses and confers the rank.
The development comes amid a legal dispute between the NBA and the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP), which promotes the Blue Silk rank.
The NBA has opposed the initiative, describing the rank as illegal and warning lawyers who accept it of possible professional sanctions. The Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee has also maintained that the SAN rank remains the recognised mark of professional distinction for Nigerian lawyers.
The Blue Silk initiative is intended to recognise legal practitioners whose professional work is primarily outside courtroom litigation. Under the criteria publicised by its promoters, applicants are required to provide at least 35 verifiable non-litigation transactions and must have held an LL.B degree for at least 10 years.
Reacting to Nwokoye’s conferment, ALDRAP Executive Secretary, Dr Tonye Clinton Jaja, described the development as significant for the SCN initiative and said it represented further recognition of the rank.
The controversy has produced litigation between ALDRAP and the NBA. In May 2026, ALDRAP appealed a Federal High Court judgment that dismissed its suit challenging the NBA and other legal regulatory bodies over the Blue Silk initiative.
The conferment of Nwokoye, a former head of the NBA, adds a new dimension to the continuing dispute over the status, legal basis and place of the Blue Silk rank within Nigeria’s legal profession.
