The Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners, or ALDRAP, has stated that it will proceed with the initiative despite an Abuja Federal High Court ruling that prevented it from bestowing the Blue Silks status on Nigerian attorneys.
In place of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) title, which is awarded to attorneys deemed deserving of it, ALDRAP adopted the Blue Silks rank.
However, the Blue Silks rank was rejected by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), who declared it to be unlawful. Similarly, the NBA’s Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC), which bestows the SAN title, cautioned that attorneys who flaunt their Blue Silks status run the possibility of facing professional misconduct sanctions.
In response to the threat, ALDRAP filed a case with the Abuja Federal High Court to defend the fundamental rights of its members and to prevent the NBA and other parties from meddling in issues pertaining to the Blue Silks rank.
However, after ruling in favor of the NBA and other defendants, the court, led by Justice James Omotosho, issued an order of permanent injunction prohibiting ALDRAP and its Executive Secretary, Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja, from awarding the Blue Silks rank.
In response to the threat, ALDRAP filed a case with the Abuja Federal High Court to defend the fundamental rights of its members and to prevent the NBA and other parties from meddling in issues pertaining to the Blue Silks rank.
However, after ruling in favor of the NBA and other defendants, the court, led by Justice James Omotosho, issued an order of permanent injunction prohibiting ALDRAP and its Executive Secretary, Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja, from awarding the Blue Silks rank.
ALDRAP had already filed a notice of appeal and stay of execution to challenge the Abuja Federal High Court judgment, arguing that Justice Omotosho should not have granted the restraining order since no prayer for such an order was before the court.
However, in a statement on Monday, the lawyers’ association said it would continue conferring the Blue Silks rank on lawyers that meet the criteria, in line with a pronouncement by the Supreme Court.
“Hon. Justice Omotosho’s judgment on the Blue Silks is a nullity, it (a judgment of the Federal High Court) cannot nullify the previous and subsisting judgments of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
Thus, unless the Supreme Court of Nigeria overturns all of its previous rulings regarding jurisdiction and Section 238 of the Nigerian Constitution, ALDRAP will continue to award the Blue Silks rank, according to a statement signed by Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja, Executive Secretary of ALDRAP.
ALDRAP explicitly contended that the Supreme Court’s decision in Ude Jones Udeogu v. Federal Republic of Nigeria & Ors (SC. 622C/2019) [2020] NGSC, rendered on May 8, 2020, cannot be overturned by Justice Omotosho’s ruling.
The group went on to assert that because Justice Omotosho had already been confirmed for elevation to the Court of Appeal at the time he handled the case, the Abuja Federal High Court, which he presided over, lacked the authority to decide the Blue Silks case.
The Supreme Court of Nigeria’s decision in Ude Jones Udeogu v. Federal Republic of Nigeria & Ors (SC. 622C/2019) [2020] NGSC 1, rendered on May 8, 2020, cannot be overturned by Hon. Justice Omotosho’s ruling.
As a result, until the Supreme Court of Nigeria overturns its ruling, the Incorporated Trustees of the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP) will follow its ruling and hold its Blue Silks conferment event.
“Hon. Justice Omotosho did not have the authority to rule on ALDRAP’s Blue Silks case as he did on May 13, 2026.
In seminal instances such as Utih v. Onoyivwe and Ohakim v. Agbaso (2010), the Supreme Court of Nigeria famously referred to jurisdiction as the lifeblood of a litigation. A lawsuit is legally “dead,” like an animal depleted of its blood, if a court does not have the necessary authority to hear it. Any effort to move forward without it is regarded as pointless.
“Hon. Justice Omotosho’s ruling is still void because, at the time he heard the case, he lacked jurisdiction and had not been confirmed for elevation to the Court of Appeal.” According to Section 238 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, Hon. Justice Omotosho should have sent the Blue Silks case to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for reassignment to a different judge so that it may be decided de novo. Refer to Ude Jones Udeogu v. Federal Republic of Nigeria & Ors (SC. 622C/2019) [2020] NGSC 1. The announcement further stated, “In this verdict, given on May 8, 2020
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