By Lillian Okenwa
“Out of 704 SANs since inception, only 29 are women. Three out of these women are dead so that leaves us with only 26 women SANs! Chief Mrs. Folake Solanke was the 1st female lawyer/practitioner elevated to the prestigious rank of SAN. That was in 1981. No woman made it until 1989 when Mrs. P.C. Ajayi-Obe, SAN of blessed memory made it.” – Chief Mrs. Victoria Awomolo, SAN
Every year in Nigeria, the jostle to apply and qualify for the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria gets to feverish points.
From two persons — Chief F.R.A. Williams, SAN, and Dr. Nabo Graham-Douglas, SAN who were conferred on 3 April 1975 when the title was instituted, the number rose to 72 recipients in 2021. What with the perks attached to the prestigious title, the quest to become a Senior Advocate Nigeria (SAN) has become a lifelong project for some Nigerian lawyers.
At the beginning of the 2018/2019 Legal Year for the Supreme Court of Nigeria, the Chief Justice of Nigeria at that time, Hon. Justice Walter S. Nkanu Onnoghen, revealed that some legal practitioners who applied for the rank submitted forged judgments to the Legal Practitioners and Privileges Committee (LPPC) to meet up with the requirements for qualification. “I have to point out the fact that…some applicants were found to have engaged in dishonourable conducts such as the forgery of judgments, resulting in their being reported to the police for investigation and possible prosecution.”
Privileges attached to the rank include being highly respected by judges, sitting on the front row of the courtroom called the inner bar, having their cases called before that of other lawyers, and being preferred to represent affluent members of the society as well as top-notch companies. Remarkable however is that since its commencement in 1975, male lawyers have earned the honour, far more than the women.
As Chief Mrs. Victoria Awomolo, SAN observed: “Out of 704 SANs since 1975 when the rank was instituted, only 29 are women. Three out of these women are dead so that leaves us with only 26 women SANs! Chief Mrs. Folake Solanke was the 1st female lawyer/practitioner elevated to the prestigious rank of SAN. That was in 1981. No woman made it until 1989 when Mrs. P.C. Ajayi-Obe, SAN of blessed memory made it. At the last swearing-in, in December 2021, only two women were on the list of 72 conferred with the rank! The question to ask is what is responsible for this dismal disparity?” It took eight years after the first lady who took silk for another woman to make it.
‘I am UK’s sixth black female QC’
But in the faraway United Kingdom, one who had been written off and by Nigerian standards adjudged a failure was given a chance to alter the course of her destiny to become the UK’s sixth black female Queens Counsel (Q) an equivalent of SAN in Nigeria.
Nneka Akudolu left school with no A-levels and got pregnant after a holiday romance. At the age of 21 while a single mum, Nneka Akudolu QC, without an A level took the Access to Legal Studies Course, got into law school, and was called to the UK Bar in 2002. With 19 years of experience in Criminal law, the highly respected 46-year-old criminal law barrister whose practice encompasses all areas of serious crime was recently appointed Queen’s Counsel at a ceremony in Westminster Hall, presided over by the Lord Chancellor, Dominic Raab.
Akudolu who was among the newly appointed 101 QCs became one of 45 women who silk that day. She and Laurie-Anne Power were the sixth and seventh black women ever to be awarded the quality mark in England and Wales.
One of six siblings and born in London in 1975 to Nigerian parents, Akudolu says: “They expect you to become a doctor, lawyer, engineer or a failure … I was “definitely careering towards the latter.”
She is reported to have acquired expertise working with vulnerable defendants, witnesses, and those charged with historic allegations of a sexual nature.
Below is a list of Nigeria’s 29 female SANs since 1975.
- Chief Mrs. Folake Solanke, SAN – 1981
- Chief Mrs. P.Ajayi Obe, SAN (deceased) – 1989
- Otunba Bisi Christiana Ajayi-Okunuga, SAN (deceased) – 1995
- Mrs. Abimbola Williams, SAN – 1998
- Mrs. Olufunke Adekoya, SAN – 2001
- Chief Mrs. Justina offiah, SAN – 2003
- Mrs. Miannaya Essien, SAN – 2007
- Mrs. Olabisi Soyebo SAN – 2008
- Mrs. Nella Andem-Ewa Rabana, SAN – 2009
- Mrs. Sylvia Shinaba, SAN (deceased)– 2009
- Dorothy Udeme Ufot, SAN – 2009
- Agatha O. Mbamali, SAN – 2010
- Mrs. Anthonia Titilola Akinlawon, SAN – 2010
- Mrs. Joy O. Adesina, SAN – 2012
- Chief Mrs. Connie–Jean Aremu, SAN – 2012
- Ms. Funke Aboyade, SAN – 2013
- Chief Mrs. Awomolo, SAN – 2013
- Mrs. Abimbola Akeredolu, SAN – 2015
- Dr. Mrs. Valerie Azinge, SAN – 2016
- Mrs. Olufunke Agbor, SAN – 2016
- Prof Yemisi Bamgbose, SAN – 2018
- Mrs. Toyin Bashorun, SAN – 2018
- Mrs. Doyin Rhodes- Vivour, SAN – 2019
- Mrs. Safiya Umar Badamasi, SAN – 2019. Currently a judge of the High Court of Katsina State.
- Mrs. Boma Alabi, SAN – 2020
- Ms. Jean Chiazor Anishere, SAN – 2020
- Ms. Funmilayo Adunni Quadri – 2020
- Prof Oluyinka Osayame Omorogbe, SAN – 2021
- Prof Josephine Aladi Achor Agbonika, SAN – 2021
The video and some parts of this article were first published by the BBC.
