Former NBA President Ebele Nwokoye Receives Blue Silks Senior Counsel Rank

By Benson Daniel

Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Chief Ebele Nwokoye, has been conferred with the rank of Senior Counsel of Nigeria (SCN), popularly known as the Blue Silks, in a development that has renewed debate over the emerging alternative to the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) title.

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 named National Patron of the Body of Senior Counsel of Nigeria (BOSCON), the organisation responsible for assessing and conferring the Blue Silks rank.

The Blue Silks designation was introduced as an alternative professional recognition for lawyers, particularly those whose careers are focused on non-litigation areas of legal practice. Applicants are required to present at least 35 verifiable non-litigation transactions and must have held an LLB degree for a minimum of 10 years.

The development has become contentious within Nigeria’s legal profession because the NBA has opposed the introduction of the SCN title. The association has described the rank as illegal and warned that lawyers who accept it could face professional sanctions.

The disagreement between the NBA and promoters of the Blue Silks has also resulted in legal proceedings. The Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP), which promotes the rank, has argued that the Blue Silks provides recognition for legal practitioners whose work may not primarily involve courtroom litigation.

ALDRAP’s Executive Secretary, Dr Tonye Clinton Jaja, described Nwokoye’s conferment as an important development for the alternative rank. He also referred to a Federal High Court judgment delivered in January 2026 concerning the dispute, arguing that the judgment affirmed the Blue Silks and limited the NBA’s authority to regulate matters outside the scope of the relevant legislation.

The NBA and its position on the legality of the Blue Silks remain part of the ongoing dispute, while claims made by ALDRAP about the effect of the court judgment have been publicly presented by the organisation’s representatives.

Nwokoye’s acceptance of the honour is particularly notable because of his former leadership position within the NBA. His conferment gives the alternative rank additional prominence within Nigeria’s legal profession and is likely to keep attention focused on the wider disagreement over how senior professional recognition should be granted to lawyers.

The development also highlights the changing nature of legal practice in Nigeria, where lawyers increasingly work in areas such as legislative drafting, corporate advisory, regulatory compliance and policy development that may not involve conventional courtroom litigation.

For now, the emergence of the Blue Silks has created two competing routes of professional recognition, with the legal and institutional dispute over the status of the SCN rank continuing to shape the debate within the Nigerian legal profession.