We wish to congratulate our Partner, Mabel Okereke, on her successful emergence as Secretary in the just concluded Capital Market Solicitors’ Association (CMSA) Executive Committee Elections which held on Friday, 27th October, 2023.
We wish her a successful tenure!
Dr. Famuyiwa is a thorough bred commercial, financial and international dispute resolution lawyer. He graduated with a first-class degree in law from University of Ibadan, Nigeria’s first and consistently ranked best university. In the Bar vocational course at the Nigerian Law School, he was also rated outstanding and won the overall best student prize in civil litigation.
He had a stint as a barrister in one of Nigeria’s foremost commercial law firms in Lagos before he left in 2009 to undertake a study for the prestigious Bachelor of Civil Law and Doctorate Degrees in Law at the University of Oxford, England.
He has published several scholarly articles especially in the areas of Corporate law, financial law and International Dispute Settlement. He is also a member of the Section of Business Law of the Nigerian Bar Association and the Financial Services Lawyers Association (UK).
Dr. Famuyiwa joined Babalakin & Co. as a partner in 2019.
Boonyameen is Notary Public for the Federal Republic of Nigeria and manages the practice of Babalakin & Co. in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria. He is also the Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association Public Interest Litigation Committee.
Boonyameen is a seasoned lawyer with close to two decades of extensive experience in high profile commercial litigation, advocacy and the practice and procedure of the superior courts of Nigeria. He obtained his LLB degree from Lagos State University and his Bachelor of Laws (BL) degree at the Nigerian Law School, Abuja.
Boonyameen has considerable experience as counsel in commercial arbitration proceedings. He regularly prepares and files processes in respect of cases at the High Court, various tribunals, Court(s) of Appeal all the way to the Supreme Court. He has handled several court room trials and argued contentious applications in disputes arising from various sectors of the Nigerian economy such as Corporate Commercial and Compliance, Real Estate, Infrastructure and Construction.
Boonyameen spearheads the firm’s engagement with government agencies on behalf of its multinational and indigenous clients, regarding complex regulatory compliance issues. He also leads the effort of the firm in monitoring bills and laws passed by the National Assembly and advice(s) clients on knotty and complex areas of law.
A member of Nigerian Bar Association, American Bar Association and the International Bar Association, Boonyameen has authored scholarly articles in law journals and also made presentations at both national and international fora.
Mabel undertakes a broad range of work in the firm’s Dispute Resolution, Corporate and Commercial practice groups. She handles a wide array of complex, high profile, commercial litigation for first tier financial institutions, as well as regulators in the Oil & Gas sector amongst others. She implements innovative litigation strategies when representing clients in various sectors in commercial disputes and participates in domestic and international arbitration.
Mabel regularly advices client in the Fintech space on regulatory and compliance issues, in addition to negotiating and drafting contracts which relate to payment services, financial, electronic/mobile money services, IP creation, exploitation and protection, amongst others.
Mabel holds a Bachelor of Laws from Olabisi Onabanjo University, Nigeria and was admitted to the Nigerian Bar in 2005. In 2010, she bagged a Master of Law degree in International Business Law from Queen Mary University of London, England.
Mabel is currently a Board Member of the NBA Institute of Continuing Legal Education. She is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, International Bar Association and the Capital Market Solicitors Association.
Kolade is an active player in the Nigerian Oil and Gas industry, particularly the Nigerian Local Content Development drive. As a key member of the Firm’s Dispute resolution team, he represents regularly, the interests of clients in all the courts in Nigeria, particularly in Oil and Gas related disputes arising from agreements and concessions in the industry.
Kolade led a team of lawyers that advised the Nigerian National Assembly on the conception and passage of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act 2010. He is presently advising major international Oil and Gas companies on the implementation of the Nigerian Content Development Act.
Kolade also advised the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board on the conceptualization, design and implementation of the Nigerian Content Fund. He has consistently attended the Global Local Content Summits in London, which is the pioneering and leading international local content conference where he has delivered seminar papers. He was also a member of the team of lawyers that advised the Nigerian National Assembly on the legal and regulatory framework of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
Kolade leads the firm’s Business Development Unit, where he is responsible for expanding the frontiers of the firm’s business. Kolade is a graduate of the University of Ibadan and the Nigerian Law School.
Dr. Udofia is a leading and acknowledged expert in corporate insolvency and restructuring law in Nigeria. He is also a seasoned dispute resolution and transactional lawyer. He has an extensive commercial and corporate law practice and regularly provides a wide range of contentious and non-contentious legal services in relation to company law, banking and financial services, insolvency, capital market, energy and natural resources.
Dr. Udofia obtained his LLB degree from University of Uyo and his LLM degree from The University College London, after which he proceeded to the University of Nottingham for his Ph.D.
As a scholar-practitioner, he previously taught insolvency and company law at The University of Nottingham and was a visiting scholar at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, London.
Dr. Udofia is the convenor of Insolvency Discourse, a roundtable focused on the development of corporate rescue and insolvency law and practice in Nigeria and also a regular contributor to some leading dailies in including Thisday, The Guardian and BusinessDay.
His column “Insolvency Discourse” in The Lawyer, a pull-out in Thisday Newspaper (in Nigeria), is widely acknowledged as the leading corporate insolvency newspaper column in Nigeria. Dr Udofia has been invited to feature his research works on some of the world’s leading corporate law blogs including Harvard Law School Bankruptcy Round-table and Oxford Business Law Blog.
Dr. Udofia is a member of several professional bodies within the legal space including; The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Capital Market Solicitors Association (CMSA), Business Recovery and Insolvency Association of Nigeria (BRIPAN), International Association of Restructuring, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Professionals (INSOL), INSOL Academic Forum, Institute of Risk Management, London.
Babalakin & Co hosted members of the Young Lawyers Forum of the Nigerian Bar Association, Lagos Branch to an evening of mentorship and networking.
Mr Wale Akoni, SAN is the managing partner, Babalakin & Co. He is a notary public for Nigeria and has been approved by the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission to carry on legal services in the Nigerian Capital Market. Previously, Wale was appointed chairman of the High Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) Rules review panel. He was also appointed as the committee chairman on judicial appointment and bench relations of the Nigerian Bar Association. Wale was the recipient of the Prince Bola Ajibola prize for Best Performance in Civil Procedure, the Chief TOS Benson prize for Overall Best Performance and the Sir Adetokunbo Ademola prize for Best Student of the Year at the Nigerian Law School. He was conferred with the rank of senior advocate of Nigeria in 2006.
Wale has represented one of the top IOCs in Nigeria in a N40 billion compensation claim and represented one of the oil & gas majors in a regulatory dispute with the Maritime Regulatory Authority through Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). He has also prepared and reviewed the transaction documents in respect of the development of a US$500 million fertilizer project. He has also represented Nigeria’s National Oil Corporation (NNPC) in matters relating to several arbitral proceedings involving a total of over US$300 million.
Wale prepared a bond issuance and subscription agreement in a N55 billion (US$440 million) bond issuance transaction between a consortium of Nigerian banks and Transcorp (Nig) Plc. He acted as transaction counsel to the N18.75 billion (US$150 million) initial public offer for shares in respect of Dangote Flour Mills Company and as Transaction Counsel to the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Terminal 2 transaction on a build, operate, transfer (BOT) basis involving about US$250 million. He has also advised on project financing agreements and documentations on behalf of major international financial institutions in relation to their lending activities in the Nigerian market.
He acted in negotiations and preparation of a management and technical services agreement between an international hotel franchise and its local partners. He has prepared, reviewed and advised on various aircraft financing, maintenance and insurance agreements on behalf of a number of aviation companies both within and outside Nigeria. He has also negotiated a management agreement for an upcoming four star airport hotel in Lagos, Nigeria.
Dr Babalakin attended the University of Lagos, Nigeria, where he obtained an LLB (Hons) in 1981. He then proceeded to the University of Cambridge, where he obtained an LLM in 1983 and a PhD in 1986, and was a Commonwealth scholar (1984-1986). He was admitted to the Nigerian Bar in 1982.
Dr Babalakin is the senior partner of the firm of Babalakin and Co, which is one of the leading law firms in Nigeria with over 70 lawyers in the Lagos, Abuja and Port-Harcourt offices.He was conferred with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 2002.
Dr Babalakin is an active member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), and was the chairman of both the committee on construction and real estate under the section on business law, and the committee on government practice under the section on legal practice. In 2005 he was appointed by the president of Nigeria as chairman of the constitutional drafting sub-committee of the National Political Reforms Conference, and as vice chair of the committee on the review of the Evidence Act CAP 112 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990. Dr Babalakin was the pro-chancellor of the University of Maiduguri and chair of the Committee of the Pro-Chancellors of Federal Universities in Nigeria (2009-2013). He is the current pro-chancellor of the University of Lagos.
He is the chair of Bi-Courtney Highways Limited, an infrastructure development company that initiated the first toll road in Nigeria.
Dr Babalakin was honorary adviser to the government of the president, Alhaji Umar Musa Yar Adua.
Dr Babalakin has considerable experience in litigation, arbitration, real estate law and project finance. He has acted in high-profile commercial arbitration proceedings and civil litigation disputes arising from various sectors of the Nigerian economy. He has conducted trials and appeals in all Nigerian courts, in matters of significant constitutional and national importance, and equally in commercial transactions that cut across the entire gamut of Nigeria’s economy: construction, real estate, oil and gas, telecoms, maritime, aviation, banking and financing.
Dr Babalakin has worked with federal and state governments in conceptualising transactions to support the development of infrastructure and investment in the country. He led the team of legal consultants to a state government for the building of an international airport in Nigeria, a multimillion-dollar project.
Dr Babalakin led the team of lawyers who represented the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in a US$100 million claim in arbitral proceedings for the determination of the corporation’s contractual rights and obligations. Dr Babalakin also led the team of lawyers in a landmark election petition case which resulted in the appointment of one of Nigeria’s senate presidents. He is also acting as lead counsel in arbitral proceedings on behalf of a state-owned oil company, in a billion-dollar claim.
Dr Babalakin attended the University of Lagos, Nigeria, where he obtained an LLB (Hons) in 1981. He then proceeded to the University of Cambridge, where he obtained an LLM in 1983 and a PhD in 1986, and was a Commonwealth scholar (1984-1986). He was admitted to the Nigerian Bar in 1982.
Dr Babalakin is the senior partner of the firm of Babalakin and Co, which is one of the leading law firms in Nigeria with over 70 lawyers in the Lagos, Abuja and Port-Harcourt offices.He was conferred with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 2002.
Dr Babalakin is an active member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), and was the chairman of both the committee on construction and real estate under the section on business law, and the committee on government practice under the section on legal practice. In 2005 he was appointed by the president of Nigeria as chairman of the constitutional drafting sub-committee of the National Political Reforms Conference, and as vice chair of the committee on the review of the Evidence Act CAP 112 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990. Dr Babalakin was the pro-chancellor of the University of Maiduguri and chair of the Committee of the Pro-Chancellors of Federal Universities in Nigeria (2009-2013). He is the current pro-chancellor of the University of Lagos.
He is the chair of Bi-Courtney Highways Limited, an infrastructure development company that initiated the first toll road in Nigeria.
Dr Babalakin was honorary adviser to the government of the president, Alhaji Umar Musa Yar Adua.
Dr Babalakin has considerable experience in litigation, arbitration, real estate law and project finance. He has acted in high-profile commercial arbitration proceedings and civil litigation disputes arising from various sectors of the Nigerian economy. He has conducted trials and appeals in all Nigerian courts, in matters of significant constitutional and national importance, and equally in commercial transactions that cut across the entire gamut of Nigeria’s economy: construction, real estate, oil and gas, telecoms, maritime, aviation, banking and financing.
Dr Babalakin has worked with federal and state governments in conceptualising transactions to support the development of infrastructure and investment in the country. He led the team of legal consultants to a state government for the building of an international airport in Nigeria, a multimillion-dollar project.
Dr Babalakin led the team of lawyers who represented the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in a US$100 million claim in arbitral proceedings for the determination of the corporation’s contractual rights and obligations. Dr Babalakin also led the team of lawyers in a landmark election petition case which resulted in the appointment of one of Nigeria’s senate presidents. He is also acting as lead counsel in arbitral proceedings on behalf of a state-owned oil company, in a billion-dollar claim.