2027: Saraki, Kwara CJ Charge Lawyers on Integrity as Adelodun Attains SAN
Former President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, the Chief Judge of Kwara State, Justice Abiodun Ayodele Adebara, and former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Yakubu Chiroma Maikyau, SAN, have charged lawyers to uphold integrity and honesty in guiding the electorate ahead of the 2027 general elections.
They gave the charge on Monday in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, at the investiture dinner held in honour of Mohammed Adelodun, SAN.
The dinner, hosted by Y.C. Maikyau & Co., was organised to celebrate Adelodun’s elevation to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, after he was listed among the 68 new SANs sworn in by the Chief Justice of Nigeria on 12 October 2026.
Speaking at the event, Maikyau said lawyers remain the conscience and guide of every society and have a critical role to play in interpreting and applying electoral laws as the country moves towards 2027.
“Lawyers are the guidance of every society, and the business of election is the business of law. Laws have been put in place to say who can vote, who cannot vote, who qualifies to contest and who is not qualified to contest.
“And lawyers are the ones that are trained. They understand this thing. It is their expertise to look at the electoral laws, interpret them and apply them. I ask our colleagues to be honest when they deal with their clients. Honest when they deal with the electorate. Let them interpret the law in the manner that the legislators themselves propose that the laws should be,” Maikyau said.
He added that for every law made, there is an intendment and spirit behind it, which lawyers are trained to understand through statutory interpretation and judicial decisions.
“It is for them to be honest in deploying that understanding, that expertise, and guide the people on how to exercise their constitutional franchise to choose those who will lead them. That is my charge to our colleagues,” he said.
Maikyau also used the occasion to celebrate Adelodun’s journey, describing it as remarkable that he attained the rank outside his father’s chambers.
“For someone who came to the office as a young man, and a couple of years later, we are celebrating him for the conferment of the highest and prestigious rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, for me, it is quite remarkable,” he said.
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“This is someone whose dad himself is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and he would be the first that I know whose dad is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, but did not work in his father’s office, but went somewhere else and was raised to become a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.”
He charged young lawyers to combine faith with diligence, noting that God blesses hard work, not laziness.
“You have to keep God in focus and work hard. These two you cannot do without… You cannot because you trust in God be lazy and go and sleep and do nothing. No, God will come through for you if you trust Him and believe in Him while you work, and so He will bless the works of your hands,” Maikyau said.
In his remarks, Saraki said Adelodun earned the prestigious rank by merit, humility and capacity and has made Kwara State proud.
“Over the years, honestly, he has impressed me with his humility, his capacity, his knowledge. He has worked for this. Many might think he has got it because he is Adelodun. No, he has got it because he is Mohammed. He is truly a great source of pride for all of us from Kwara State,” Saraki said.
“I hope that you inspire a lot of younger people from our state. We have always done well in this profession, and I am sure we will continue to do well in this profession,” he added.
The Chief Judge of Kwara State, in his goodwill message, described the Adelodun family’s feat as historic, noting that Adelodun’s father attained SAN exactly 20 years ago in 2006.
“Twenty years ago, he attained the prestigious rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and today, remarkably, 20 years later, in 2026, his own son, biological son, Mohammed Adelodun, SAN, is conferred with the same prestigious title, rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria. This is a very great feat,” the CJ said.
He prayed that the new silk would be sustained in wisdom and that his children would surpass his achievements.
Responding, the celebrant, Mohammed Adelodun, SAN, said the SAN rank is not achieved by a calculated shortcut but by a daily lifestyle choice of professionalism, courtesy and continuous learning.
“If you say the steps I went through, it would look like we were trying to work our way to an answer. I do not think it is the way to look at it. I think it is who you are every day. It is the lifestyle you adopt. It is a choice you make every day that you wake up to do your work and do it the best you can,” he said.
He also cautioned colleagues against acts that bring the profession to public ridicule, noting that bad press often overshadows the hard work of many judges and lawyers.
“If we keep doing the right things and avoid those things that make people cast aspersions on the legal profession, I think we will just be fine. Lawyers have always done the best they can, and we will keep doing what we do,” he said.
