The Nigerian Law Society (NLS) and the Body of Senior Counsel of Nigeria (BOSCON) have maintained that they possess the legal autonomy to confer the Blue Silks rank of Senior Counsel of Nigeria (SCN) on qualified members without interference from any individual or institution.
The two organisations made the declaration in a joint statement issued on Friday and signed by the President of the NLS, Peace Ambassador Dahiru Aliyu, SCN. They argued that, like the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), they have the right to independently manage their internal affairs.
The statement came in response to the NBA’s opposition to the Blue Silks initiative. The NBA had described the alternative legal rank as illegal and warned lawyers against parading themselves with the title.
According to the NLS and BOSCON, the conferment of the Blue Silks rank is strictly an internal matter of the organisations and is based on the assessment of 35 verifiable non-litigation legal transactions. They stressed that applicants voluntarily seek the rank, pay the prescribed fees and agree to abide by the rules governing both bodies.
The organisations further stated that, having been duly registered in December 2025, they are empowered under relevant provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020 and the SMEDAN Act 2003 to regulate their internal activities, including the award of the Blue Silks rank.
They also cited a January 27, 2026 judgment, which they claimed affirmed that neither the NBA, the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC), nor any other individual or institution has the authority to interfere with the conferment of the Blue Silks rank. The bodies warned against future attempts to obstruct or challenge the exercise of what they described as their lawful internal powers.
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