There is palpable disquiet in legal circles following a steep 400 per cent increase of the processing fee for the coveted rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) from N1 million to N5 million.
This emerged following a notice issued by the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC) announcing commencement of the application process for the 2026 award exercise.
In a public notice issued and signed by the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court and Secretary of the Committee, Mr. Kabir Eniola Akanbi, the LPPC stated that the call for applications is being made pursuant to the combined provisions of Section 5(2) of the Legal Practitioners Act, Cap L11 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, and Paragraph 10(1)-(4) of the 2022 Guidelines for the Conferment of the Rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
The committee had commenced online-only applications since the advent of the 2022 Guidelines, even as it had pegged the processing fee at N1 million since 2023.
Consistent with the practice, the committee stated that all applications for the 2026 SAN conferment shall be made only through the online platform, while interested applicants are required to visit www.lppconline.com to begin the process. The application portal will open at 12:00 am on November 1, 2025 till January 31, 2026.
Meanwhile, applicants are to pay a non-refundable processing fee of ₦5 million for legal practitioners in private practice and ₦2.5 million for legal practitioners employed in government service. Payments are to be made to any of the following bank accounts in favour of the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (SAN): Zenith Bank PLC – Account Number: 1014103141, and GT Bank PLC – Account Number: 0213662834.
Upon payment, applicants are required to upload a copy of the evidence of payment on the application portal. The applicant will subsequently receive a confirmatory email from the LPPC Secretariat, and may then proceed with the rest of the application process.
However, the new processing fee has drawn varying reactions, with the former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof. Chidi Odinkalu opening the floodgate of comments.
In a post on his verified Twitter/X handle, Odinkalu suggested that the hike may not foster honesty especially among public servants.
His words: “Ok, so, the next round of applications to become #SAN in #Nigeria will cost practitioners N5m non-refundable. Public servants interested will cough up N2.5m.
“Pls, how do they expect an honest #PublicServant to find this? Very soon they will price SAN into extinction.”
This opened a floodgate of reactions, with one Olúfúnké Baruwa @FunkeBaruwa saying: “Sad and heartbreaking to see institutions and professions that are meant to serve, promote principles of transparency, accountability, fairness and justice become the very ones opposing it. The average, honest public servant even at directorate level earns less than 500k monthly.”
Bashir Aondohemba @shirAondohem9 agreed, saying: “To become SAN is no longer for people of honesty. Find money, by all means to pay and become one.”
One Nzemeka @Nzemeka4 wrote: “That’s why they have SANs that can’t interpret a common law because they aren’t worth it.” On his part, JusticeForAll @alor_ikechukwu wrote: “Open and gross act of corruption. Institutional failures abound in Nigeria. Most promotions are not merit based.”
EBINUM Dickson Joseph @ebinumdickson argued that “SAN will not be priced into extinction. Just that SAN would become exclusive to moneybags. IGR is the main focus here,” while Dike eji aga mba Imenyi @nelsonchudi observed as follows: “The notice is dated 3rd Nov 2025, the portal will open 1st November 2025 and published 27th October. This tardiness demonstrates the road the process is traveling. In addition only one academic whose salary is 400k and they are to pay 5m will be selected.”
But at least one commentator, Pheropizzle @pheropizzle aligned with the increase, saying: “It is not a lot of money. It is necessary to show financial good standing. How are we sure you will you pay juniors well and charge commensurate professional fees if you cannot afford to pay 5m despite 10 years PQE and handling cases from the high court to the Supreme Court.”
The committee is yet to provide any rationale for the steep increase at the time of filing this report.
