IGP office acknowledges Jaja, Aliyu as NLS Executive Director, President — Jaja

Michael Olumide Alabi

Office of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) has acknowledged Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja, SCN, as Executive Director and Ambassador Dahiru Aliyu, SCN, as President of the Nigerian Law Society (NLS), according to a statement issued by Jaja.

Jaja said the acknowledgement was contained in a letter dated March 10, 2026, with reference number CB:5180/IGP.SEC/ABJ/VOL.43/41, and signed by Commissioner of Police Lateef Audio Ahmed, Principal Staff Officer to the Inspector-General of Police.

According to him, the letter was addressed to the President of the Nigerian Law Society at No. 4 Sefadu Close, off Ademola Adetokunbo Crescent, Abuja, which he described as the national headquarters of the organisation he represents.

Jaja said the development followed an earlier letter jointly signed by himself and Aliyu in their respective capacities as Executive Director and President of the NLS, congratulating the Inspector-General of Police on his appointment and swearing-in as the 18th indigenous IGP of Nigeria.

He said the correspondence was titled “Congratulations on Your Appointment and Advocacy for Lawful Policing Reforms.”

The NLS executive director further stated that the organisation received a certificate of registration dated December 30, 2025, and maintained that its registration status distinguishes it from another group involved in a separate dispute concerning the use of the Nigerian Law Society name.

The issue has generated competing claims. In January 2026, Chief Joe-Kyari Gadzama, SAN, publicly disputed communications attributed to an NLS executive council led by Aliyu and described the matter as connected to litigation involving the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

More recently, a September 2026 report said another NLS faction petitioned the Inspector-General of Police concerning alleged unauthorised use of the society’s name and institutional identity by Jaja, Aliyu and others.

The allegations were reported as unproven, with no finding of wrongdoing disclosed in the petition.

Jaja, however, maintained in his latest statement that the organisation he represents is an association focused on non-litigation areas of legal practice, rather than seeking to operate as a parallel body to the Nigerian Bar Association.

He listed areas in which members of the organisation operate to include legislative drafting, legal education and research, arbitration and alternative dispute resolution, company secretarial services, data protection and privacy, law revision and law reform.

According to Jaja, some members hold LLB degrees without having proceeded to the Nigerian Law School and Call to the Bar, while others are lawyers who have chosen professional areas that do not principally involve courtroom litigation.

He also stated that the NLS is collaborating with the Body of Senior Counsel of Nigeria (BOSCON) in relation to the “Blue Silk” rank of Senior Counsel of Nigeria (SCN), which he described as a proposed recognition of excellence among non-litigation lawyers.

The Blue Silk issue is itself subject to an ongoing legal and professional dispute. Reporting in July 2026 showed that the NLS and BOSCON maintained that they had authority to confer the SCN rank, while the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee had maintained that SAN remains the statutorily recognised senior rank for legal practitioners.
Jaja said the latest clarification was intended to guide lawyers, government institutions and members of the public on the position of the organisation he represents.

He urged stakeholders to distinguish between the different organisations and the ongoing legal proceedings while the relevant courts and authorities continue to address the disputed issues.