The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has charged Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs, on the need to uphold, and promote ethics in the legal profession.

The minister said as the privileged custodians of the rank, they must act in manners that uphold its dignity, nobility and esteem.

The Minister, at the dinner held by the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, BOSAN, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the rank, cautioned junior lawyers against disrespect against members of the inner bar, SANs. He said those conferred with the rank must be treated with utmost respect deserving of the exalted position.

The dinner included 134 graduands of the BOSAN Induction Program, the 2024 set of 87 SANs and formal welcome of 2025 set of 57 SANs into the Body.

Five students of various faculties of law in Nigerian universities were also awarded scholarships at the ceremony.

The AGF remarked that the partnership between the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee, LPPC, under CJN's headship and that of the BOSAN, had served to elevate the Rank and, more broadly, strengthen and advance the legal profession.

Fagbemi decried the attitude of some Practitioners who regard the Rank as a licence for misconduct and indiscipline, under the mistaken belief that once conferred, it is inalienable.

He asserted that the rank is a privilege, and, like all privileges, it can be withdrawn if the recipient denigrates or lives below the standard of the privilege.