Dr. Eric Keme-Egolukumor Omare, SAN, of E. K. Omare & Company law firm has made history as the first Ijaw from Ogbe-Ijoh Warri Kingdom and in the Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State conferred with the prestigious award of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) by the Legal Practitioners' Privileges Committee (LPPC).

The award of SAN was conferred on Dr. Omare Esq. on Monday (October 12, 2026) by Hon. Justice Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun, GCON (the 23rd Chief Justice of Nigeria and the second female jurist in history to occupy that position) at the Main Courtroom of the Supreme Court of Nigeria Complex in Abuja. The conferment also officially marks the commencement of the 2026/2027 new legal year.

Dr. Omare Esq. was among the 68 to 69 legal practitioners and academics who were approved by the LPPC to be promoted to the rank of SAN during its 174th plenary session in July 2026.

The rank of SAN is a prestigious title awarded to legal practitioners in Nigeria who have achieved excellence and distinction as advocates or academics. It is the Nigerian equivalent of the King's Counsel (KC) in the United Kingdom and several other Commonwealth realm, that admits the recipient to the "Inner Bar" of the legal profession.

To qualify for SAN, applicants must be legal practitioners called to the Nigerian Bar; must be in continuous legal practice for at least 10 years preceding their application; must demonstrate high-level distinction in court advocacy or make major scholarly contributions to legal education (for academic applicants); and must complete a pre-swearing-in induction.

According to findings by PENGlobal, the conferment of SAN on Dr. Omare Esq. brings to two the number of persons from the Ijaw ethnic nationality in Delta State that bear the prestigious legal rank. Isaiah Bozimo, SAN, C.Arb, the son of prominent Ijaw national leader and former Nigeria Minister of Police Affairs Alaowei Broderick Bozimo, was the first to be conferred with the rank in 2023 in recognition of his exceptional career in advocacy and commercial dispute resolution.

Bozimo, SAN, is the immediate past Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Delta State, serving from July 2021 to May 2023. He is also a highly distinguished Nigerian legal practitioner, and chartered arbitrator recognized as a leading expert in commercial arbitration and dispute resolution across Africa. During his tenure in Delta State, he championed major legal reforms, including drafting the Delta State Arbitration Law of 2022 and contributing to the national Arbitration and Mediation Act of 2023.

He previously practiced as the Managing Partner at his family's niche firm, Broderick Bozimo & Company, and co-founded Detail Dispute Lawyers (DDL), a specialist disputes firm focusing on international commercial arbitration and complex litigation. On the international level, he serves as a Vice President of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Court of Arbitration, making him one of the few prominent Nigerians appointed to the elite global arbitration body.

Bozimo, SAN, in his legal job represents a wide array of high-profile clients, including multinational corporations, state-owned enterprises, and state governments in multi-billion Naira and million-dollar cross-border commercial and energy disputes.

On the other hand, Dr. Omare, SAN, is a highly prominent Niger Delta lawyer and former spokesman/President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), widely recognized for his legal activism, environmental justice campaigns, and political advocacy concerning the Ijaw nation and the broader Niger Delta region.

He presides as the Principal Counsel at E. K. Omare & Co., a value-driven law firm specializing in civil and commercial litigation, alternative dispute resolution (ADR), maritime law, and energy, oil, and gas disputes, regularly representing local communities in high-stakes environmental litigation against multinational oil operations.

As a public intellectual holding a doctorate (PhD) in law, Dr. Omare, SAN, is a frequent commentator on national television networks and regional media outlets regarding democratic compliance, constitutional matters, and the delineation of electoral units within Delta State.

Both Bozimo and Omare are individuals of Delta Ijaw extraction with deep lineage, communal representation, and legal practice rooted in the Delta region. Nonetheless, the number of indigenous Delta Ijaws who have officially attained the prestigious rank of SAN is extremely small when compared to neighbouring Bayelsa State (predominately occupied by the Ijaws) that has produced 11 SANs since its creation on October 1, 1996.

In September 2025, legal practitioners Fedude Zimughan and Preye Agedah were elevated to the rank, marking the first time two Bayelsans were inducted simultaneously, bringing the total to 11, in a development that Governor Douye Diri noted reflects steady growth in the state's legal profession as he urged local government areas that have not yet produced a SAN to work toward the achievement.