The Supreme Court of Nigeria has imposed a personal cost of ₦50 million on a legal practitioner, S.M. Danyaro, over what it described as a vexatious, irresponsible, abusive and unprofessional application filed before the apex court.
The ruling was delivered by Justice Chioma Egondu Nwosu-Iheme, JSC, in relation to proceedings arising from Appeal No. SC.266/2017.
In the ruling, Justice Nwosu-Iheme agreed with the lead ruling delivered by Justice Jamilu Yammama Tukur, JSC, and held that the application was one of the most thoughtless and irresponsible applications ever brought before the Supreme Court.
The court described the application as unusual, vexatious, irresponsible, abusive and unprofessional, adding that it amounted to professional misconduct on the part of counsel for the applicant.
Justice Nwosu-Iheme held that the application constituted a gross abuse of the process of the court and was filed deliberately by counsel to ventilate grievances over the outcome of the substantive appeal.
According to the court, the application, which was brought under the guise of a review, degenerated to a level unprecedented in the history of applications for review before the Supreme Court.
The court further stated that counsel exposed what it described as his ignorance and poor knowledge of the law, while making a mockery of himself as a legal practitioner.
Justice Nwosu-Iheme said the conduct of counsel was unbecoming and bereft of common sense, adding that the application was dismissed in its entirety.
The court affirmed that the judgment delivered on June 4, 2025, in Appeal No. SC.266/2017 remained subsisting, final and binding on all parties.
Consequently, the Supreme Court ordered Danyaro to personally pay ₦50 million as cost to the respondents within 90 days.
Justice Nwosu-Iheme held that the cost was imposed because the application was vexatious and unprofessional, and was intended only to cause annoyance when objectively evaluated.
The court also directed that a certificate of compliance must be filed in accordance with Order 12 Rules 4(d), 6 and 7 of the Rules of the Supreme Court.
The apex court further ordered that Danyaro shall cease to have right of audience in any court in Nigeria until there is evidence of compliance with the said rules of the court.
The ruling was certified as a true copy by the Registrar of the Supreme Court on June 22, 2026.
