Jurisdictions your role covers: Nigeria, Ghana, Mauritius 

What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

My team has been engaged in fund formation, private equity, M&A, project finance and renewable energy transactions in 2025. Work undertaken by the team during the year includes advising in relation to the management and operation of several (sub-1MW) off-grid solar projects and on the financing and development of an interconnected mini-grid in Nigeria; advising on the financing, development and/or operation of multiple independent power projects (IPPs) in Nigeria (with a total project cost of approximately USD$77 million), namely a 10.6MW IPP, a 29.34MW embedded IPP and an 11MW hybrid IPP, together with associated distribution infrastructure; and advising on the formation of a climate-themed private equity infrastructure fund.

What strategies has your legal team adopted to manage disputes and mitigate risks in Nigeria’s dynamic business environment?

Generally, in infrastructure projects, a risk should be allocated to the party that is best able to bear or mitigate it. Comprehensive technical, commercial, legal, insurance and environmental and social due diligence is carried out to identify and mitigate relevant risks. In addition, it is important to ensure that counterparties are reliable and creditworthy, and to obtain guarantees or relevant credit support where necessary.

Transactions are structured to mitigate potential risks as far as possible, including the inclusion of robust provisions on service levels, liquidated damages, fee increases, step-in rights, termination, governing law, arbitration and similar matters in relevant agreements.

My team proactively monitors changes in laws and regulations. Beyond advising management on the impact of these changes on the business, we ensure prompt compliance to avoid penalties. In addition, we engage with regulators through responses to exposure drafts of regulations and similar measures.

In managing disputes, my team ensures good-faith discussions to identify and resolve relevant issues. Strategy sessions are held to evaluate the substantive and procedural options available for the resolution of any dispute, including the engagement of external counsel where required. Interim remedies may be considered or obtained from the courts to maintain the status quo until the resolution of a dispute.

How do you advise on cross-border transactions and foreign investment, given Nigeria’s complex regulatory and dispute resolution landscape?

On cross-border transactions, I advise on potential regulatory and dispute risks. Foreigners are allowed to wholly or partly own and control businesses, except in the production of arms and ammunition, dealing in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, and the production of military and paramilitary wear. However, Nigerian participation is encouraged in certain industries, such as oil and gas.

Compliance with foreign exchange (FX) regulations is important to ensure that foreign investments can be repatriated through official channels. Although Nigerian courts do decide cases in favour of foreign investors, it is not uncommon for disputes to be resolved through arbitration in a foreign jurisdiction.