Team size: 5

Jurisdictions your role covers : Nigeria

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

Over the past year, our legal team advised on a highly complex and market-sensitive divestment involving a significant minority shareholding in one of Nigeria’s most systemically important publicly listed financial institutions. The transaction was executed within a compressed timeframe and under intense public, regulatory and stakeholder scrutiny.

The team provided comprehensive legal support throughout the transaction lifecycle, including structuring advice, detailed legal risk assessment, regulatory engagement, documentation oversight and crisis management support. Particular emphasis was placed on confidentiality controls, disclosure sequencing and market integrity considerations, as well as guiding senior management through heightened scrutiny and execution risk.

This matter underscores the team’s experience in advising on high-stakes, high-profile transactions at the intersection of corporate governance, financial regulation, crisis management and the capital markets.

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

Nigeria’s business landscape is continuously evolving, shaped by ongoing regulatory, commercial and economic change. Within this environment, anticipating legal risk and proactively establishing structures to mitigate and manage such risk is essential to ensuring business continuity, preserving enterprise value and maintaining the confidence of investors and stakeholders.

At HGL, we have adopted a forward-looking, commercially focused and compliance-conscious approach designed to promote sustainability, profitability and alignment with international best practice. This approach is underpinned by the following key pillars:

Early Identification and Assessment
The legal team plays an active role in the Group’s strategic and operational decision-making. By engaging at an early stage in investment and commercial initiatives, we are well positioned to identify and assess potential legal exposures. This enables the organisation to make informed, risk-aware decisions in respect of proposed investments and business opportunities.

Risk Mitigation
Following the identification and analysis of risk, appropriate safeguards are implemented to prevent or minimise potential exposure. Experience demonstrates that unclear, ambiguous or poorly structured agreements are a primary source of commercial disputes. Accordingly, we ensure that contracts are comprehensive, clearly drafted, enforceable and appropriately risk-allocated, thereby reducing legal liability and minimising the likelihood of conflict.

Regulatory Compliance and Ongoing Engagement
Operating across multiple sectors requires constant attention to Nigeria’s evolving regulatory framework. We have implemented a robust compliance monitoring system to ensure continuous adherence to applicable laws, including tax, employment, competition, data protection and sector-specific regulations. Regulatory developments are closely monitored to enable timely internal adjustments where necessary. In addition, sustained engagement and constructive communication with regulators is prioritised, which has proven instrumental in resolving issues efficiently and maintaining regulatory confidence.

Building Legal Awareness Internally
Effective compliance must be embedded as an organisational culture rather than treated as a standalone function. To achieve this, we conduct regular training sessions and maintain ongoing engagement with business units on contractual obligations, legal and ethical standards, regulatory requirements and the Group’s dispute resolution framework, which is designed to address concerns before they escalate into formal disputes.

Coordinated Crisis and Communications Management
In the event of disputes or regulatory investigations, the legal department works closely with corporate communications to ensure that all internal and external messaging is accurate, consistent and legally robust, while safeguarding the Group’s reputation and commercial interests.

How is your legal department leveraging technology to improve compliance monitoring, contract management, or governance reporting? strong>