By Adesina Soyooye
“Counsel degenerated to a level unprecedented in the history of Application for review in this Court and ended up not only exposing his ignorance and poor knowledge of the law, but making a mockery of himself as a Legal practitioner. He is not worthy to be called a Legal practitioner” – Honourable Justice Chioma Egondu Nwosu-Iheme
For a Nigerian Lawyer, S.M. Danyaro, it was like a bad dream, worse than a nightmare. He would, by now, be cursing the day he decided to take an application for review before the Supreme case of Nigeria.
Not a few people are asking how he “found the legs” to leave the premises of the Supreme Court.
In a ruling signed on June 22, 2026, which has now been made public, a Supreme Court Justice, The Honourable Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme, PhD, descended on him for ever, even, thinking of bringing such an application for a review before the Supreme Court.
Nwosu-Iheme described the application as vexatious and an abusive of application filed after the conclusion of a substantive appeal.
As punishment, his application was not only entirely dismissed, he was slammed with a fine of N50 million which he must personally pay with a period of 90 days. He dismissed the Lawyer as “uncultured.”
Worse, Nwosu-Iheme, the first female Judge in Nigeria to earn a PhD, known for her compassionate, but no nonsense disposition, directed that the Lawyer be denied right of audience in any Court in Nigeria until “he complies with the Court’s order and files a certificate of compliance before the Court.”
Justice Nwosu-Iheme’s ruling followed the lead ruling of Justice Jamilu Yammama Tukur, JSC, which Nwosu-Iheme fully agreed with.
According to Nwosu-Iheme, Danyaro’s application ranks among the worst ever brought before Nigeria’s highest court.
She said: “I agree entirely with the reasoning and abide by the conclusion in the lead Ruling that this Application is one of the most thoughtless and irresponsible Applications ever brought before this Court.”
Describing the lawyer’s conduct as professional misconduct she accused him of filing the application merely to vent his grievances over the outcome of an earlier appeal decided by the court on June 4, 2025.
Nwosu-Iheme: “It is condemnable as it amounts to professional misconduct on the part of Counsel for the Applicant, S.M. Danyaro.
“It will haunt the said Counsel for the rest of his career as a Legal Practitioner for being oblivious of the consequences of his action.”
The Supreme Court justice did not stop there.
“I agree that this Application is thoughtless, Juvenile and Gross abuse of the process of this Court.
“It was brought deliberately by this irresponsible Counsel to ventilate his grievances over the outcome of the substantive Appeal.
“In the process of bringing this Application under the guise of a review, counsel degenerated to a level unprecedented in the history of application for review in this Court and ended up not only exposing his ignorance and poor knowledge of the law, but making a Mockery of himself as a Legal Practitioner.
“He is not worthy to be called a Legal Practitioner.”
The Apex Court affirmed that its earlier judgment delivered on June 4, 2025, in Appeal No. SC.266/2017 remains valid, binding and final.
“This application and the unbecoming Conduct of Counsel for the Applicant is bereft of Common Sense, it is dismissed in its entirety.
“The judgment of this Court delivered on the 4th day of June, 2025 in Appeal No. SC.266/2017 remain subsisting, final and binding on all parties.
“Sequel to the vexatious and unprofessional Application of this uncultured Counsel, S.M. Danyaro, intended only for causing annoyance when objectively evaluated, I also order that costs of N50,000,000 be paid personally by this recalcitrant Counsel, S.M. Danyaro personally for filing this trash.
“The costs shall be paid within 90 days to the respondents.
“A certificate of compliance must be filed in Court in accordance with the Provisions of Order 12 Rules 4(d), 6, and 7 of the Rules of this court.
“S.M. Danyaro of Counsel shall cease to have right of audience in any Court in Nigeria until there is evidence of Compliance with the said Rules of this court.”
The ruling, which is already being hailed by Nigerians who insist it will curb frivolous filings by some Lawyers,
was signed off by The Honourable Justice Chioma Egondu Nwosu-Iheme, Ph.D, Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, and marked as a Certified True Copy. It has been issued by the Registrar of the Supreme Court.
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