Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie > Lagos, Nigeria > Firm Profile

Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie
ST NICHOLAS HOUSE (12TH FLOOR)
CATHOLIC MISSION STREET
LAGOS
Nigeria

Nigeria > Banking, finance and capital markets Tier 1

Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie's practice houses a team praised by clients as ‘experts in banking and finance as well as in capital markets’, and fields experience in handling asset and acquisition finance, debt restructuring, and Islamic finance. Aniekan Ukpanah and Daniel Agbor are experts in project finance, while Yinka Edu’s workload takes in corporate, leveraged and structured finance. Adeola Sunmola and Onyinye Okafor are well versed in advising on syndicated lending transactions, and Joseph Eimunjeze has experience in regulatory and compliance issues. Other key practitioners include Victor Samuel, Nicholas OkaforPamela Onah and Lisa Esamah.

Practice head(s):

Daniel Agbor; Aniekan Ukpanah; Yinka Edu; Nicholas Okafor; Adeola Sunmola; Joseph Eimunjeze; Onyinye Okafor

Other key lawyers:

Pamela Onah; Victor Samuel; Ekundayo Onajobi; Lisa Esamah; Abolanle Ayoola; Chisom Okolie

Testimonials

‘Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie is one of the best law firms in Nigeria and it has deep knowledge of the capital market industry.’

‘The team is well equipped with seasoned lawyers who are experts in banking & finance as well as capital markets.’

‘UUBO is in tune with the changes in diverse sectors of the practice, the lawyers have excellent drafting skills and are also very good at structuring transactions.’

‘The banking, finance and capital markets team is collaborative, with excellent understanding of the sectors.’

‘Onyinye Okafor is a star and very lovely to work with. She can be firm but very flexible to integrate ideas. She knows her craft and is very amiable. I am always delighted to work with her.’

‘Adeola Sunmola is an expert in banking & finance and capital market transactions.’

‘Pamela Onah is strong at drafting legal documents and reviewing legal documents to ensure it captures relevant issues.’

‘Victor Samuel is very hard working.’

Key clients

ABritish International Investment plc (formerly CDC Group plc)

Africa Finance Corporation

Standard Chartered Bank

Citigroup Global Markets Limited

JP Morgan

STL Trustees Limited

FBN Quest Trustees Limited

ABSA Bank Limited

Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria Limited

European Investment Bank

Jotna Nigeria Limited

Barak Fund SPC Limited

BUA Cement Plc

Seplat Energy Plc

International Finance Corporation

International Fund for Agricultural Development

Geometric Power Limited

Echosys Invest

Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company Limited

Sahara Energy Group

Johnvent Industries Limited

Chapel Hill Denham

Work highlights

  • Advising International Finance Corporation and a consortium of other lenders in connection with a proposed issuance of a USD 500,000,000 senior secured facility to BUA Cement Plc, for the purpose of expanding the latter’s integrated cement plant.
  • Advising Seplat Energy Plc on the Nigerian legal aspects of the financing, by lenders, for a proposed acquisition of a 100% stake in two holding companies.
  • Advised AFD on providing a €100,000,000 unsecured term loan facility to the Bank of Industry concerning its ongoing focus on sustainable development finance.

Nigeria > Commercial, corporate and M&A Tier 1

The corporate practice at Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie has an excellent reputation for its strength in private equity, and is also well regarded for its expertise in advising on acquisitions and disposals, corporate restructuring, and joint ventures. Daniel Agbor is well known for his experience in corporate transactional work, Jumoke Lambo specializes in foreign investment, and Folake Elias-Adebowale is experienced in advising on disposals and joint ventures. Other notable lawyers with experience in the corporate and commercial space are Yinka Edu and Ozofu Ogiemudia.

Practice head(s):

Daniel Agbor; Jumoke Lambo; Folake Elias-Adebowale; Yinka Edu; Ozofu Ogiemudia

Other key lawyers:

Tobechi Nwokocha; Aanuoluwapo Odunaike; Joseph Eimunjeze; Damilola Adedoyin; Itorobong Udom

Testimonials

‘Udo Udoma & Belo Osagie is very professional and is able to guide clients through complex transactions.’

‘Ozofu Ogiemudia stands out as one of the brightest lawyers I have ever worked with. It’s always a pleasure to work with her and her team.’

Key clients

Actis West Africa Real Estate Investment Fund LP

Tiger Brands Limited

African Capital Alliance

BioNTech SE

B Capital Global Growth Fund III L.P

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria PLC

Capricorn Digital Limited

Union Global Partners Limited

SB Investment Advisers (UK) Limited

Aruwa Capital Management

Phatisa Food Fund 2

OMH Optimum Maritime Holdings Ltd/Advokatfirmaet Wiersholm AS

Seplat Energy Plc

Work highlights

  • Advising Seplat Energy Plc on the Nigerian law aspects of the client’s proposed acquisition of a 100% stake in two holding companies.
  • Advised OSM and Thome Group on their $33,750,000 global business combination, resulting in the creation of OSM Thome Ship Management.
  • Advised BioNTech SE on the acquisition of global technology company Instadeep.  

Nigeria > Dispute resolution Tier 1

At Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie, the practice is home to 'a very experienced team of litigators' with 'excellent dispute resolution skills'. The group is well-versed in representing high-profile clients in international disputes. Uzoma Azikiwe heads up the department, in which arbitration expert Festus Onyia and Mesuabari Mene-Josiah garner praise as 'accessible and detail-oriented' practitioners. Olukayode Dada advises on commercial litigation and white-collar crime matters, while Olamide Aleshinloye is an expert in asset and debt recovery claims.  Michael Ugah is a key contact for contentious tax work;  Shakirudeen Mosobalaje is well-versed in oil and gas litigation; and Mesuabari Mene-Josiah handles commercial, employment and real estate disputes.

Practice head(s):

Uzoma Azikiwe

Testimonials

‘The dispute resolution team is collaborative.’

‘A client-focused law firm with remarkable attention to detail, and a very experienced team of litigators.’

‘Festus Onyia and Mesuabari Mene-Josiah standout. They are one of the best commercial dispute resolution teams in the market. They are accessible and detail oriented.’

Key clients

Equinor Nigeria Energy Company Limited (formerly known as Statoil Nigeria Limited)

Abbot Investment (North Africa) Limited

Schlumberger Nigeria Ltd

Pfizer Specialties Limited

HSBC Bank

Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited

International Finance Corporation

Seplat Energy Plc

General Electric Company Limited

Mr. Basil Omiyi, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Seplat Energy Plc

Richard Mofe-Damijo

Notore Chemical Industries Plc

British Broadcasting Corporation

KCA Deutag Nigeria Limited and KCA Deutag Drilling GMBH

Aikan Uganda Limited

Vlisco Nigeria Limited

Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited

Google LLC and Alphabet Inc

UAC Foods Limited

Vitol Finance BV

Unilever Nigeria PLC

Petrogas Nigeria Ltd

Pension Alliance Ltd

Norebo Hong Kong Limited

Dermalog Identification Systems GmbH

Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited

Cummins West Africa Limited

C & N Investments Limited

Union Bank Plc

Bristow Helicopters (Nigeria) Limited

Etex Group

Bell Point Energy Limited

Work highlights

  • Representing Google LLC in a lawsuit involving a USD 1 billion damages claim relating to libellous videos published on YouTube.
  • Representing Aiteo Eastern E & P in a dispute with Shell Petroleum Development Company Nigeria Limited (SPDC) concerning alleged misrepresentation arising out of the Agreement for Assignment (AFA) of SPDC’s interest in the Oil Mining Lease 29 (OML 29).

Nigeria > Energy and natural resources Tier 2

The practice at Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie is home to a 'robust team of specialists' with a solid track record in handling energy and infrastructure projects. The ‘team player’ Nicholas Okafor handles greenfield and brownfield projects; Aniekan Ukpanah is well versed in advising on structuring and project financing matters; and Folake Elias-Adebowale advises on upstream and downstream petroleum work. Adeola Sunmola regularly advises on renewable energy developments, project finance and syndicated lending transactions; Onyinye Okafor is also active in the latter two areas. Victor Samuel and Godson Iwuozo have expertise in oil and gas, infrastructure and power transactions. Maryam Asabe Salami and Chisom Okolie are also singled out.

Practice head(s):

Aniekan Ukpanah; Folake Elias-Adebowale; Nicholas Okafor

Testimonials

‘UUBO has a team of highly specialized professionals, each with a deep understanding of their respective fields. Notably, Nicholas Okafor and Godson Iwuozo have consistently demonstrated a profound knowledge of diverse areas of law, which has been instrumental in resolving complex legal matters.’

‘The members of the team are versatile and always very eager to resolve new challenges constantly sprouting in an ever-evolving commercial transaction.’

‘UUBO is a standout law firm that excels in providing comprehensive legal services, thanks to its exceptional team, commitment to innovation, and client-centric approach.’

‘UUBO has a robust team of specialists in various legal domains. The team understands the broader context in which their clients operate. The firm has embraced technology with open arms, streamlining their processes and enhancing client experiences.’

‘The UUBO team is well-versed with the issues and related solutions for the business of its clients.’

‘Nicholas Okafor is a very knowledgeable industry leader. He is very dependable and has put together a team that is very result oriented and diverse. They deliver on very complex transactions.’

‘Nicholas Okafor is a great team player, very welcoming to client’s ideas, and demonstrates his expertise.’

‘Folake Adebowale is very knowledgeable of Oil & Gas commercial transactions.’

Key clients

Oma Power Generation Limited

Sahara Energy Group

Mitsui

Vitol Group

Equinor Nigeria Energy Company Limited

Chapel Hill Denham

Nigerian Infrastructure Debt Fund

Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company

Jotna and Engee PET Manufacturing Company Nigeria Limited

OCP Africa Fertilizer Nigeria Limited

Internacional Finance Corporation

AIPEC Oil and Gas Limited and AIPEC Properties Limited

Aiteo Eastern E & P Company Limited

Geometric Power Limited

Seplat Petroleum Development Company

Geometric Power Limited

CMA CGM Terminals Group

Mirova Sunfunder

Engie Energy Access

General Atlantic Service Company L.P. / Beyond Net Zero

OSM Maritime

Work highlights

  • Advising APL Electric Company Limited in connection with the acquisition of the Aba Electricity Distribution Company Limited.
  • Advised OSM Maritime on a proposed offshore acquisition of Thome Group, which has a Nigerian subsidiary, TOG Shipping and Offshore Management Nigeria Limited.
  • Advised Engie Energy Access and its Nigerian subsidiary Engie Fenix Nigeria Limited on regulatory matters concerning its business model and contractual issues for the provision of off grid solar power facilities in Nigeria.

Nigeria > Real estate and construction Tier 2

The practice at Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie stands out for providing a client base of developers, investors and government entities with 'excellent support'. Department head Aniekan Ukpanah has established expertise in advising on infrastructure project financing matters. Ekundayo Onajobi is well versed in handling land acquisitions, and Ifunanya Nwafor and Ikenna Edeh are very experienced in assisting with real estate transactions.

Practice head(s):

Aniekan Ukpanah

Other key lawyers:

Testimonials

‘The team understands the peculiarity of any particular legal subject, and it always strives to exceed expectations. ’

‘The team offers excellent support promptly under extreme pressure.’

Key clients

British American Tobacco Marketing

Mediterranean Shipping Company

First Concepts & Properties Limited

Niger Classic Investment

Marriott International Inc

Schlumberger Nigeria Limited

Work highlights

  • Advised Castalia Advisor on legal matters pertaining to a low cost energy efficient housing scheme.
  • Assisted Schlumberger with negotiations, due diligence, and leasing of 11 apartments at Empire Court, Ikoyi, Lagos.
  • Advised FCPL on various lease arrangements relating to the Heritage Place building.

Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie (UUBO) is a full service, multi-disciplinary law firm that is focused on facilitating corporate and commercial business throughout Nigeria, and across Africa.

Founded in 1983, UUBO has evolved into a multi-disciplinary, 15-partner concern with 137 professional employees, including more than 70 lawyers, with offices in Nigeria’s key commercial centres.

 At Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie, we enjoy an extensive network of long-term regional and international relationships with reputable African and international law firms, and strategic affiliations with leading global organisations that contribute to our strong capacity to seamlessly deliver dynamic solutions and to coordinate multi-jurisdictional assignments across over 21 practice areas to the diverse local, African and international clients with whom we are privileged to work.

Our practice areas include aviation, compliance and investigations, media, entertainment and sports, real estate and construction, banking and finance, corporate advisory, mergers and acquisitions, tax, business establishment, corporate immigration, employment, oil and gas, telecommunications, media and technology, capital markets, intellectual property, power, infrastructure and projects, fintech, litigation, arbitrations and alternative dispute resolution, private equity, and corporate governance and company secretarial services through our subsidiary, Alsec Nominees Limited.

We are privileged to enjoy a reputation for our culture of excellence and long-term commitment to quality service delivery.  Our philosophy from inception has been that legal advice should be of the highest possible standards, accessible, commercially oriented, and consistently sound on principle.

As a firm, we have developed a reputation for being trusted with innovative assignments, facilitating complex, unusual transactions, resolving a broad range of disputes, generating legal solutions within a relatively short space of time.

The diverse backgrounds, skills and insights of our lawyers’ and our collaborative, ‘hands-on’ approach to solving problems all contribute to the recurrently high independent peer and positive client reviews of our work.  This has resulted in top tier rankings in leading global directories including Chambers Global Directory, Chambers FinTech Guide, the Legal 500, Who’s Who Legal and the IFLR 1000, which summarised research findings to report that UUBO is   “…widely accepted as the corporate firm of choice in Nigeria and the go-to firm for a wide percentage of international outfits looking for local counsel in Nigeria.’’

Without exception, all of our male and female partners have been recognised by a variety of regional and international publications and organisations for the quality of their work and leadership in the legal space, and the depth of our bench is demonstrated by the independent recognition and awards accorded to several of our associates as ‘up and coming’ stars in their areas of specialisation.

We are particularly proud of the fact that for almost 40 years, our 15-partner firm has been and remains a meritocracy with unparalleled gender parity across its partnership from inception and all levels of employment in Nigeria.

As a large and evolving firm, our internal structure is a key contributor to our continued success. In addition to our lawyers and other professionals, we have strong organisational structures and the support of a fully fleshed operations unit with experienced back office talent including a robust technology and business enterprise team, all led by a chief operations officer.  We attribute the readiness with which we sustain our business continuity and have been able to continue to facilitate our clients’ business in variable and even challenging circumstances – including the unprecedented global pandemic – to the drive and dedication of our dynamic support team.

The institutionalisation of the firm’s structure allows us to remain a top-ranked firm in the legal space while ensuring that we are able to execute and contribute to our many CSR and pro bono projects. We strongly believe in giving back, and do so via a variety of initiatives and organisations such as the Lex Mundi Hurricane Disaster Relief Trust, various COVID-19 relief efforts, Child Lifeline (an association for the care and education of street children and young persons in need) among many others. We provide support on pro-bono and charitable basis to a variety of institutions including in the healthcare, micro, small and medium enterprises, arts and business space and other sectors.

Department Name Email Telephone
Aviation Jumoke Lambo jumoke.lambo@uubo.org
Banking and finance Aniekan Ukpanah aniekan.ukpanah@uubo.org
Banking and finance Yinka Edu yinka.edu@uubo.org
Business establishment and corporate immigration Jumoke Lambo jumoke.lambo@uubo.org
Capital markets Yinka Edu yinka.edu@uubo.org
Company secretarial services Jumoke Lambo jumoke.lambo@uubo.org
Compliance and investigations Lolade Ososami lolade.ososami@uubo.org
Corporate advisory including M&A and restructuring Dan Agbor dan.agbor@uubo.org
Corporate advisory including M&A and restructuring Folake Elias-Adebowale folake.adebowale@uubo.org
Employment Jumoke Lambo jumoke.lambo@uubo.org
Employment Ozofu Ogiemudia
Intellectual property Mena Ajakpovi mena.ajakpovi@uubo.org
Dispute Resolution Uzoma Azikiwe, SAN
Dispute Resolution Mena Ajakpovi mena.ajakpovi@uubo.org
Dispute Resolution Festus Onyia festus.onyia@uubo.org
Mining & Metals Lolade Ososami lolade.ososami@uubo.org
Oil and gas Folake Elias-Adebowale folake.adebowale@uubo.org
Power, infrastructure and projects Nicholas Okafor nicholas.okafor@uubo.org
Private equity Dan Agbor dan.agbor@uubo.org
Private equity Folake Elias-Adebowale folake.adebowale@uubo.org
Private equity Ozofu Ogiemudia
Pro bono Yinka Edu yinka.edu@uubo.org
Pro bono Ozofu Ogiemudia
Real estate Aniekan Ukpanah aniekan.ukpanah@uubo.org
Tax Lolade Ososami lolade.ososami@uubo.org
Telecommunications, media and technology Jumoke Lambo jumoke.lambo@uubo.org
Number of lawyers : 70
English
Lex Mundi
Employment Law Association
Nigerian Bar Association
International Bar Association
African Private Equity & Venture Capital Associaton (Nigeria)
Private Equity and Venture Capital Association
Emerging Market Private Equity Association
Capital Market Solicitors Association
Nigerian Gas Association
Other offices : Abuja
Other offices : Port Harcourt