The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ilorin Branch, has announced that its 2025 Annual Bar Dinner and Award Night will be held in honour of Senator Saliu Mustapha, marking the first time in the branch’s history that the event will be dedicated to a non-lawyer.
The dinner, scheduled for 20 December 2025 at the Arca Santa Arena in Ilorin, is expected to draw leading legal practitioners, scholars, and stakeholders in the justice sector.
In a statement signed by the Publicity Secretary of the Branch, A.O. Ahmed-Aliagan, the NBA said Senator Mustapha, who represents Kwara Central at the National Assembly, is being recognised for what it described as his “consistent goodwill, steadfast support, and enduring relationship with the Ilorin Bar.”
Mr Mustapha, the Turaki of Ilorin Emirate, has over the years provided various forms of institutional and personal support to the branch, the NBA said.
The association also listed prominent individuals who will receive honours for their contributions to the legal profession and the wider society.
Those named include retired jurist, Justice Hannah Ajayi; law professor and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mubarak Adekilekun; Abdulsalam Yunus, SAN; Lukman Fagbemi, SAN; and Ghazali Shafiu, Officer-in-Charge of Monitoring.
A philanthropic award will also be presented to business leader and construction industry figure, Alhaji Tajudeen Ajibola Ibrahim Eleku.
The NBA said the 2025 edition will serve not only as a social gathering but also as a platform to reflect on professional values, celebrate institutional memory, and strengthen ties among members of the Ilorin Bar and its partners.
“The Bar Dinner remains a forum for celebrating tradition and honouring service,” the statement added, noting that members are encouraged to attend what it described as an “eventful and memorable evening.”