IT IS INAPPROPRIATE": CJN KUDIRAT KEKERE-EKUN BANS LAWYERS FROM USING "BARRISTER" TITLE IN OFFICIAL ENGAGEMENTS

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, has issued a directive barring legal practitioners and court officials from using the title “Barrister” as a prefix to their names in all official engagements.

​The directive was conveyed in an official memorandum dated July 13, 2026, signed by the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, Kabir Akanbi, and addressed to legal practitioners, court registrars, litigation staff, and lawyers nationwide. According to the circular, the Chief Justice determined that adopting "Barrister" as an honorific prefix is inconsistent with professional legal ethics and fails to align with the standards expected within Nigeria's highest court.

​"I am directed by the Honourable the Chief Justice of Nigeria to notify all Litigation Staff, Legal Practitioners, Court Registrars, and Lawyers that the use of the title 'Barrister' as a prefix to names is inappropriate and inconsistent with the standards of professionalism expected within the Supreme Court of Nigeria," the memorandum stated.

​"Consequently, all officers concerned are hereby directed to discontinue the use of the title 'Barrister' before their names in all official correspondence, records, documents, identity materials, and any other official engagements with immediate effect."

​The move reinforces long-standing positions held by legal regulatory bodies, including the Body of Benchers, which have repeatedly warned against treating "Barrister" as a title prefix. In Nigerian law, practitioners are enrolled as "Barristers and Solicitors of the Supreme Court of Nigeria"—designating a professional qualification rather than an official title prefix like "Doctor" or formal honorifics like "Senior Advocate of Nigeria" (SAN).

​To ensure total compliance, the CJN instructed all heads of departments and unit heads across court divisions to strictly enforce the mandate among staff and legal representatives under their supervision.