‘Gbenga Bamodu FCIArb – Partner
‘Gbenga is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He was admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria with First Class honours in 1989. He had obtained the Bachelor of Law (LLB) degree from the Lagos State University (LASU) as a member of the legendary pioneer set of the LASU Faculty of Law. He did pupillage at the leading firm of Olawoyin & Olawoyin and worked as counsel in the chambers of Chief C.O. Ihensekhien (Senior Advocate of Nigeria). He later obtained the Master of Laws degree in International Business Law with Distinction from the London School of Economics (University of London) and a Doctorate in Transnational Commercial Law from the University of Nottingham. He also holds certification in project planning.
In 2022/2023, ‘Gbenga prepared expert reports and testified as an expert witness to assist the Business and Property Court of the High Court of England and Wales (King’s Bench Division) in the seminal case of Federal Republic of Nigeria v Process & Industrial Development Ltd (‘the P&ID case’) [2023] EWHC 2638 (Comm). He has also acted as consultant for both private organisations and state entities including the African Export-Import Bank (Cairo), the Government of the Lagos State of Nigeria, the National Information & Technology Development Agency (Nigeria), and in respect of litigation on issues of major commercial and constitutional significance. He has extensive experience on structured and trade finance and has worked on several multimillion dollar transactions including PPP infrastructure finance projects, syndicated term loan facilities and other secured credit facilities. He is also an arbitration law expert and has successfully acted for clients in London Maritime Arbitrators Association (LMAA) arbitration.
‘Gbenga has also taught international trade, finance and electronic commerce law at universities in the United Kingdom, Europe and Africa attaining the rank of Professor of Law. His published works have been cited by major organisations including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Union (EU), the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), the United Nations Conference on Trade Law (UNCTAD), and before the Supreme Court of the United States of America in the major case of Kiobel v Royal Dutch Co.
‘Yomi Odesola – Partner
‘Yomi was admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 2009; he did pupillage in the firm of Afe Babalola & Co Legal Practitioners and Arbitrators. He holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Essex (UK) and a Master of Laws degree from the University of East London (UK). He also holds certifications in project planning and management.
In addition to his legal background, ‘Yomi has vast experience in project planning and management and is an expert on related technology including operational software. He has worked with household name businesses and global corporations including Balfour Beatty, EDF Energy, E-on UK, and Dong Energy Denmark among others.