CJN suspends SAN awards, asks Salami, CJs, NBA to assess candidates

THE appointment of new Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), slated for Monday, had been reportedly suspended by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu, to allow for deeper scrutiny of the 62 shortlisted candidates as demanded by the Legal Practitioners Act.It was gathered that the meeting of the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC), where the final appointment was to be made out of the 62 shortlisted candidates, earlier scheduled for Monday, was cancelled at the last minute by Katsina-Alu, chairman of the committee, in order for the president of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Isa Salami, chief judges of states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), judges in their jurisdiction and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to assess the candidates, as enshrined in the Act guiding the appointment.Katsina-Alu had also written to the parties concerned, forwarding the shortlisted candidates to them for their comments and assessment.In a letter dated March 29, 2011, with ref. no CJN/LPPC/B.4/XVIV/150, a copy of which has been seen by the Nigerian Tribune, Katsina-Alu asked the affected parties to assess the candidates and make their findings available to him not later than April 14.In the letter, entitled Re-Application for the Conferment of the Rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria 1n 2010, Katsina-Alu said I would be grateful if all the honourable judges of your court (members for NBA) would assess/comment on the candidates for the conferment of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria. I will appreciate it if the comments will reach me not later than April 14, 2011.With the letter, it was certain that the appointment exercise would not take place until after April 14.The registered trustees of the NBA had gone to court to stop the appointment process for not having the list for scrutiny.The suit, filed at the Federal High Court, on Friday, listed Katsina-Alu and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Bello Mohammed Adoke, as co-defendants.However, the suit had been slammed by senior legal practitioners, describing it as a premature step.They said the body should have waited for the LPPC to conclude the appointment without recourse to it before heading for court.
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