Board of Directors

Chairman

Directors

Biographies

Mrs. Abimbola Akeredolu, SAN

A former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mrs Akeredolu SAN is renowned for her vast experience in commercial litigation and arbitration. Her multilingual skills (English, French, Italian, and German) make her stand out as a lawyer and arbitrator. She is a Partner at Banwo & Ighodalo and co-chairs LACIAC’s SMEs technical committee.

Suzanne Rattray

Suzanne Rattray is a senior engineer with more than 35 years of professional experience. She has a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering from McGill University in Canada, specializing in structural engineering. She has had lead responsibilities on numerous infrastructure projects, in the transportation, building and energy sectors, in Zambia, Tanzania, Mozambique, DR Congo, Chad and Israel. She is a Director and Partner of Rankin Engineering Consultants, headquartered in Lusaka, Zambia. She has beena practising Adjudicator and Arbitrator since 2008 and was admitted as a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in 2012, qualifying to Fellow Status in 2017. Mrs Rattray is an Approved Faculty Trainer on the Arbitration and Adjudication Pathway Courses of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. She served as Chairperson of the Zambia Branch of the Institute from 2018 – 2020. She is listed on the panels of the Kigali International Arbitration Centre, the Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration and the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration.

 Tunde Busari, SAN, FCIS, FCIArb

 Olatunde Busari, SAN is a graduate of the University of Ife, Nigeria where he obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science (B. Sc). He also obtained a Bachelor’s degree (LL.B) in Law from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and a Master’s Degree (LL.M) in Law from the University of Lagos, Nigeria. He was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1989.

He practiced law in the firm of Babalakin & Co (a reputable law firm in Nigeria) from 1990 to 1993 as Senior Associate during which he was engaged in solicitors’ practice generally and advocacy with particular attention to Disputes Resolution, Commercial Law Practice, Maritime, Admiralty, Oil & Gas, protection of Intellectual Property, documentation and perfection of transactions, etc. In 1993 he established the law firm of Akinwunmi & Busari LP as a founding partner.

Mr Busari is a Member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), International Bar Association (IBA), Pan African Law Union (PALU), Business Recovery and Insolvency Practitioners Association of Nigeria (BRIPAN), Insol International: International Federation of Insolvency Practitioners, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Professional Practice Group), Intellectual  Property Law Association of Nigeria (IPLAN), Executive Committee of the Nigerian Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, U.K, London Court of International Arbitration (Pan African Council), Executive Council of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria, Negotiation and Conflict Management Group (NCMG), Lagos, Steering Committee of the Lagos Multi-Door Court House (ADR) Project, National Committee on the Reform and Harmonization of Arbitration and ADR Laws in Nigeria, National Committee on the Harmonization of Road Traffic Laws, National Committee on the Reform of Investment Laws in Nigeria.

Mr. Busari is also a Fellow (FCIArb) and 1st Vice Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, U.K (Nigeria Branch), Fellow (FCIS) and Past President of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN), Distinguished Fellow of the Professional Excellence Foundation of Nigeria (DFPEFON), Member Education and Membership Committee (EMC) Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Member, Management Committee of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce International Arbitration Centre (LACIAC) 2014 till date, Designated representative of Nigeria on the Arbitration Panel of the ICSID (International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes) 2016 – 2022.

Mr Busari served as a Director in the Trans Nigeria Insurance Plc (1999-2003), the Nigerian Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (2006-2007) and Corporate Affairs Commission of Nigeria (2010-2011).

He is a practising domestic and international solicitor, advocate, and arbitrator and has acted as counsel in various proceedings. He is a listed arbitrator with the Lagos Multi-Door Courthouse, Nigerian Communication Commission Arbitration Scheme, Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration, Lagos, and the Kigali International Arbitration Centre, Rwanda.  He is a Notary Public and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

He served as the Special Assistant to the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice between 2006 and 2007 and also between 2010 and 2011.

He is a member of the Ikoyi Club 1938, Ikeja Golf Club, Ibadan Polo Club, and the Metropolitan Club, Lagos.

 Olumide Olusoji Odukoya MBA, CFE, M.IoD, FCS, FNIM, FCA

Olusoji Odukoya attended the Yaba College of Technology, Yaba, Lagos and Ogun State University (now Olabisi Onabanjo University O.O.U) Ago Iwoye where he obtained his HND in Accounting in 1983 and MBA (Accounting and Finance) in 1997 respectively. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM Chartered), and the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS). He is also a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and a member of the Institute of Directors (IoD).

He is currently the Managing Partner of Olusoji Odukoya & Co (Chartered Tax Practitioners). He was Deputy Registrar/CEO (Corporate Services) at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) until March 2016. Before joining ICAN, Odukoya had worked in both the private and public sectors for over 21 years. He started his working career at the Clerical level at the Federal Audit department (now Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation) in 1977 and left in 1987 as a Chartered Accountant/Senior Auditor. He also worked as Company Secretary/Chief Accountant and later as Management Accountant at Fisheries Services, Ijora, and WemaBoard Estates limited within the Odu’a Group of Companies from August 1987 to December 1991; he was Senior Accountant at Electrolux Mandilas Limited (Mandilas Group) from 1992 to 1993. Olusoji Odukoya was Group Head of Finance/Dealer at City Securities Limited (FCMB/CSL Group)from 1993 to 1997 and also Deputy Registrar at City Securities (Registrars) Limited. Olusoji Odukoya was General Manager, Finance and Investment at Elmac Assurance Nigeria Limited from January 2000 to January 2002.

He also had a brief spell in the Capital Market as General Manager (Operations) at Multinational Investment and Securities Limited before joining the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) in April 2002. At CIS, he was Head of Membership Services and Examination departments.

 Ahmed Raji, SAN, FCIArb (UK)

Ahmed Raji SAN is a leading Senior Advocate of Nigeria. He is also the Founder/Principal at Ahmed Raji & Co. He was appointed by the President and Commander in Chief of Armed Forces of Nigeria as the Resident Electoral Commissioner where he served in five (5) different states in Nigeria for a period of eight (8) years. His expertise and experience extend to diverse and broad areas of practice, including litigation, mediation and arbitration, banking and corporate finance, maritime and admiralty, election matters, and telecommunications. He has about thirty (30) years of experience in administrative and constitutional matters, criminal law, debt recovery, and other areas of practice. He was part of the team that successfully defended the Nigeria National Petroleum Commission (NNPC) in an international arbitration against Petree INC (a US Company). He is known for his astute legal approach to client’s cases, keen attention to detail, and the ability to give advice on complex transactions and matters on the spot. He has a Master’s Degree in Law from the King’s College, University of London, where he obtained a distinction in Telecoms Law.

Adedoyin Rhodes-Vivour SAN

Adedoyin Rhodes-Vivour SAN is the Managing Partner, Doyin Rhodes-Vivour & Co (Legal Practitioners and Arbitrators) and a Chartered Arbitrator and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK) and a CEDR UK Accredited Mediator. She holds the LLB [Hons] and LLM degrees in Law. She holds a Master of Arts degree [MA] with merit in International Peace and Security from King’s College London, University of London [2002]. In recognition of her leadership qualities, she was nominated by the United States Information Services (USIS) to participate in the ‘Young African Leaders Programme’ in 1990. In 2005 she was awarded the prestigious British Government Chevening Scholarship in the area of peaceful settlement of international disputes.

She has practiced law for nearly four decades and specializes in commercial transactions, international and domestic arbitration, and alternative dispute resolution. Her areas of expertise include oil and gas, energy, construction, and infrastructural projects, maritime, banking and finance, franchise and commercial disputes generally. Her legal practice actively encourages alternative dispute resolution and she has successfully mediated several disputes. She has also acted as a consultant to regulatory bodies for drawing up arbitration/ADR industry-specific schemes (Nigerian Communications Commission [NCC], Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission [NERC]). She is a Notary Public of Nigeria.

Dr. Tunde Ajibade, SAN

Dr Ajibade SAN is the Managing Partner of SPA Ajibade & Co. He has extensive experience in all aspects of commercial arbitration, both domestic and international, and in investment treaty arbitration.

A versatile arbitrator, he co-chairs LACIAC’s energy technical committee.

Dr Ajibade SAN is a council member of the Nigerian Bar Association’s Section on Business Law and is currently the Vice-Chairman of the sub-Committee on Banking, Finance and Insolvency. He was the Chairman of the Capital Market Solicitors Association between 2011 and 2013. He was also the Vice-Chairman of the Rules & Regulations Sub-committee of the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission’s Capital Market Committee from 2008 to 2012.

 

 

Babatunde Fagbohunlu, SAN

 

Tunde Fagbohunlu SAN is a Senior Partner and Head of the Litigation & Arbitration Practice. He is a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria (admitted 1988). In December 2008, he was conferred with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) by the Nigerian Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee.

 

He specializes in commercial litigation and has litigated on an extensive range of issues, including those pertaining to oil and gas, maritime, intellectual property, telecommunications, taxation, finance and banking, contracts, receiverships and insolvency, commercial law transactions and general litigation both at trial and appellate levels.

 

Tunde has represented various multinational clients including oil companies, telecommunication companies and banks both in litigation, ad-hoc arbitrations and arbitration proceedings. He renders legal advice on a wide range of commercial transactions. He also regularly represents Nigerian as well as foreign and multinational clients in arbitration and before arbitral institutions, such as the International Court of Arbitration of the ICC. He has also been appointed arbitrator in several arbitration proceedings.

 

In 2021, the Legal 500 EMEA recognised him as a leading individual in Dispute Resolution. He was ranked Band 1 in Dispute Resolution in Chambers Global 2021. He was described as “well known and highly regarded and has been involved in a lot of ground-breaking matters in the oil and gas industry”. Also, he has recognised as a Highly Regarded Lawyer in the 2021 IFLR1000 rankings.

 

He is an exclusive recipient of the 2020 Client Choice in the Arbitration & ADR category (Nigeria) by Lexology. He was, until December 2020, the Chairman of LACIAC’s Board of Directors.

 Olawale Adeola Akoni, SAN

A lawyer recognized by ‘Who’s Who Legal’ Magazine, and the ’Legal 500 Europe, Middle East, and Africa’ directory, as one of the top business lawyers in Nigeria, Olawale Akoni SAN is the Managing Partner of Babalakin and Co. He is also a Notary Public for Nigeria and has been approved by the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission to carry out legal services in the Nigerian Capital Market. He has acted as Chairman of the High Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) Rules Review Panel and Committee Chairman on judicial appointment and bench relations of the Nigerian Bar Association.

Wale Akoni SAN co-chairs LACIAC’s construction technical committee.

Yusuf Ali, SAN

Yusuf Ali SAN is the Principal and Founder of the Law Firm, Yusuf O. Ali & Co, Ghalib Chambers, with offices at Ilorin, Lagos, and Abuja, He co-chairs the Manufacturing technical committee of LACIAC. He is an Affiliate Representative on the Council of Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society. He was a member of Kwara State High Court Civil Procedure Rules Review Committee (2004) and Chairman Kwara State Law Review Committee (2004-2005). Yusuf Ali SAN is the author of several law articles and books and a recipient of various awards.

 Babajimi Ayorinde

Babajimi Ayorinde is a founding partner and head of the Commercial Dispute Resolution Practice Group at The New Practice (TNP). He specialises in Corporate and Commercial law and has been involved in several arbitration proceedings. In addition to his core focus on commercial dispute resolution, he heads the firm’s FinTech and e-Commerce group and has advised on several transactions that have been instrumental to the increased adoption of electronic and mobile payments in Nigeria. He has an excellent grasp of the FinTech regulatory environment and regularly advises clients on licensing and compliance issues. He has been ranked by Chambers & Partners as one of the two leading individuals in the FinTech industry in Nigeria.

Babajimi is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and co-chairs LACIAC’s SMEs technical committee.

 Uwa Etigwe, SAN

Etigwe Uwa SAN is the Partner in charge of the Dispute Resolution Practice at Streamsowers & Köhn. His litigation and arbitration experience span a wide range of areas including commercial disputes; international trade; oil and gas; telecommunications; company law; maritime and aviation; intellectual property; employment; personal injury; construction; trade disputes; insurance; taxation; banks and other financial institutions. He also has an established reputation as an authority in Nigerian aviation law.

A co-chair of LACIAC’s energy technical committee, Etigwe Uwa SAN is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, UK and a member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators.

 Adesina Salawu

Adesina Salawu is a legal manager at Total Exploration & Production Nigeria. Before joining Total he worked in Aluko & Oyebode where he worked as a member of the dispute resolution team dealing with litigation, arbitration, and other ADR-related matters. Mr Adesina is a corporate attorney with substantial in-house legal experience and wide range of legal, regulatory and compliance experience from a private practise background especially in energy and natural resources law, environmental, labour law and dispute resolution
Specialties: corporate investigations, regulatory advisory services, insurance fraud, bank fraud, trademark infringement claims, mediation of employment disputes, asset tracking.

Funmi Roberts

Funmi Roberts is the Founder and Principal Partner of Funmi Roberts & Co. a leading female-owned law firm. A former lecturer at the faculty of Law, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, she is recognized and respected both within and outside the legal profession for her legal, administrative, and organizational skills have the profound ability to utilise her excellent analytical skills to achieve defined impactful objectives and develop novel strategically designed solutions to challenges.

She has utilized her considerable leadership, strategic and organizational skills to grow Funmi Roberts & Co. from a single room Chambers in Ibadan into an internationally recognized law firm with impressive Chambers in Ibadan and Lagos, with a focal point in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, as well as several international collaborating law firms.

Funmi Roberts, a dispute resolution expert of no mean repute, is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association and has served as a member of the highest decision-making body of that umbrella organization for lawyers in Nigeria (NEC- National Executive Council). This is apart from serving as a member of the Council for the Section on Business Law. Funmi is a member of the International Bar Association, Arbitral Women, Maritime Arbitrators Association of Nigeria, Society for Corporate Governance, Nigeria, Kigali International Arbitration Centre Panel of International Arbitrators (KIAC),  International Association of Restructuring, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Professionals, Business Recovery and Insolvency Practitioners of Nigeria (BRIPAN) Institute of Directors, International Chamber of Commerce Commission on Arbitration & ADR e.t.c She is a Fellow and tutor of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, U.K, a trainer, Accredited Mediator and member of the Global Mediators of the U.K-based Centre For Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR).

 Funmi Iyayi

Funmi Iyayi is a legal practitioner licensed to practise in Ghana and Nigeria. She worked in the law firm of Aluko & Oyebode as a member of the commercial dispute resolution team for several years, where she represented clients in contentious and non-contentious matters as well as functioned as the secretary to arbitral tribunals. Thereafter she served as in-house counsel in one of Nigeria’s leading real estate development companies, a role she held for two years before joining the Lagos Court of Arbitration as the general counsel. Funmi was the Managing Director/CEO of LACIAC until April 2021.

Chief Gbola Akinola

Chief Gbola Akinola is a practicing Lawyer and Arbitrator. He obtained a B.Sc Degree in Political Science from the University of Ibadan in 1982, was called to the Nigerian Bar, and admitted to practice as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 1987.

He is a Partner in the law firm known as ‘THE LAW UNION’ with cognate experience in Corporate and Commercial Law practice and a highly skilled advocate with extensive commercial legal advisory experience.

Chief Gbola Akinola was appointed a Notary Public in May 1998, admitted as an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in November 1999, elected a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in February 2001, and became listed as a member of the Institute’s Panel of Chartered Arbitrators in August 2006, admitted to the KIAC Panel of International Arbitrators, Kigali, Rwanda, in November 2012, member African Arbitration Association (AfAA) and member of the Board of Directors of Lagos Chamber of Commerce International Arbitration Centre (LACIAC) January 2021.

He became an Approved Tutor and Resource person of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in January 2003 and lectures in Arbitration both in Nigeria and other parts of Africa. He was a member of the National Committee on Reform of Arbitration Laws.

He is a branch Officer of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Nigeria Branch and currently serves as the Chairman.

Lawrence Fubara Anga, SAN

Lawrence Fubara Anga, SAN has a multi-disciplinary background in Law, Economics, Management, and Fiscal Policy. He has an active local and international litigation and arbitration practice and has appeared before all superior courts in Nigeria and Ghana. His practice cuts across various industry groups including energy, aviation, shipping, banking, finance, and telecommunications. He is one of the founding partners at ǼLEX Partners and currently heads the Transportation, Banking, and Finance practice groups. He was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1984 and is also qualified to practice law in Ghana (2001) and England & Wales (2001). He was appointed to the office of a Notary Public in 1993 and is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

He is a trained arbitrator and has received advanced training in ADR from California State University, Sacramento, the AAA, and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research. He has also acted as a party-appointed arbitrator on several arbitration panels. He was educated at Kings College, Lagos, Yale University and Cambridge University.

Nania Owusu Ankomah-Sackey

Nania Owusu Ankomah-Sackey is a Partner at Bentsi-Enchill, Letsa & Ankomah in Ghana. She regularly advises and represents clients in a range of high-value litigation and arbitration disputes. She sits as an arbitrator and also sits on the Electronic Communications Tribunal of Ghana, a quasi-judicial body with a three-member panel that hears appeals in respect of the regulation and licensing of telecommunications companies, television and radio stations, and internet service providers. She is a Councillor of the LCIA Africa Users’ Council and also an officer of the IBA Arbitration Committee (Newsletter Editor). She speaks at arbitration conferences and events including the LCIA Africa User’s Council Symposium, IBA Annual Conference and ICC YAF. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a member of the LCIA, ICCA, IBA, AfAA and the Ghana Arbitration Centre.

She was a part of the Task Force for the Commonwealth International Commercial Arbitration Survey. She has authored a number of articles on arbitration and contributed to a number of publications in the same field. She is qualified to practice in England and Wales, and in Ghana.

Jackie Lafleur

Jackie Lafleur is a Senior Associate in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Department of Bowmans in Johannesburg, South Africa. She has over 10 years of experience in general commercial litigation and specializes in complex contractual disputes. She represents and advises corporate and commercial clients in a variety of industries including banking, property, mining, construction, agriculture, and FMCG. Jackie advises on all aspects of commercial litigation and alternative dispute resolution and represents clients in complex contractual disputes in the South African High Court, arbitrations, and mediations.  She is also experienced in international arbitration, having represented clients in the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

She holds an LLB from the University of the Witwatersrand and an LLM from University College London.

Jackie is also a qualified mediator.

Mushtaq Namdarkhan

Mushtaq Namdarkhan is a Partner at BLC Robert within the Disputes Resolution department and is mainly involved in corporate/commercial litigations and arbitrations as well as insolvency and restructuring transactions. Mushtaq regularly appears before the Commercial and Bankruptcy Divisions of the Supreme Court of Mauritius in shareholder disputes, banking litigation, and construction disputes among others, as well as before the Designated Judges under the International Arbitration Act in applications involving the International Arbitration Act and the Convention for the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards Act. He is also involved in a number of high-value domestic and international commercial arbitrations. Mushtaq has co-authored the BLC Robert publication “Why Mauritius? A National Court in Support of International Arbitration” in 2016 and regularly contributes to the “Chambers Global Practice Guides” on Insolvency. He also intervened as a speaker at the East Africa International Arbitration Conference in 2016 on “East African courts and support for Arbitration”. Mushtaq teaches civil law (contract) at the Institute of Judicial and Legal Studies. Prior to joining BLC Robert, Mushtaq was an associate in the Restructuring and Insolvency Group at the London office of Herbert Smith (now Herbert Smith Freehills), a leading international law firm where he spent a total of four years.

Folake Sadiq

Folake Sadiq oversees the Legal Department and Corporate Secretariat of Lagos Bus Services Limited (LBSL). She is a dedicated, dynamic, resourceful, commercial lawyer and an effective dispute resolution practitioner.

She obtained an LL.B from the University of Lagos and an LL.M in International Commercial Law from the Robert Gordon University Aberdeen, Scotland, where she graduated with a distinction and also received the Thompson Reuters Prize for All Round Best Performance in International Commercial Law (LL.M). She worked in different top-tier Nigerian law firms before joining LBSL and has extensive experience in Corporate and Commercial Law, Litigation, Property Law, Arbitration, and Alternative Dispute Resolution.

She is also a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitration. (CIArbUK). She was the Chair of the Young Members Group, CIArb Nigeria Branch from 2017 to 2020 and is now a member of the Global Steering Committee.

Yehia Shahine

Yehia Shahine is an international arbitration practitioner. He has worked as a Senior Associate in the Dispute Resolution Department of Baker Mckenzie and was a Partner and Head of Arbitration Practice at Adsero-Ragy Soliman & Partners till May 2020. His practice encompasses handling complex high-profile litigation cases and commercial arbitration procedures related to telecommunications, civil, commercial, competition, and sports laws. Yehia has been involved in large domestic and international commercial and investment arbitration proceedings covering a number of industry sectors and conducted under a variety of arbitration rules including the ICSID, ICC, CRCICA, CAS, DIAC, LCIA, GAFTA, and UNCITRAL.

Top