Short Profile of Professor Paul Obo Idornigie, SAN, PhD, LLM, FCIS (London),
FCIArb(UK), Chartered Arbitrator, Notary Public

Professor Paul Obo Idornigie, a University Scholar, holds a doctorate degree in International Commercial Arbitration; and is a

  • Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (London);
  • Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK);
  • Chartered Arbitrator;
  • Member, London Court of International Arbitration;
  • Member, African Arbitration Association;
  • Member, Lagos Court of Arbitration;
  • Member, Nigerian Bar Association;
  • Member, Nigerian Association of Law Teachers;
  • Member, International Bar Association; and
  • Commonwealth Lawyers Associatio

He is on the Panel of:

  • Neutrals at the Abuja and Asaba Multi-door Courthouses;
  • Lagos Court of Arbitration;
  • Arbitrators at the Lagos Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration, Lagos, Nigeria;
  • Nigerian Communications Commission, Abuja, Nigeria and

Member, Governing Board,, Jinada International Commercial Arbitration & Mediation Centre, Abuja, Nigeria

He is also a Faculty (Tutor), Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, UK; a former member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Nigerian Bar Association; Chairman, Continuing Legal Education Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association, Abuja Branch; former Chairman, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK), Abuja Chapter and a Member of the Inter- Ministerial Committee on International Investment Agreements (IIAs, Nigeria). He is the Chairman, Arbitration and Dispute Resolution Working Group, National Assembly Business Environment Roundtable (NASSBER). Was involved in the setting up of the Abuja and Asaba Multidoor Courthouses. Practices Arbitration, Mediation, Conciliation and Negotiation.

He is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Notary Public for Nigeria and an Author.

Honours/Distinctions/Prizes

  • West African School Certificate, Division One, Aggregate 11, 1976
  • University Scholar, University of Jos, Nigeria: 1987/88, 1988/89, 1989/90 and 1990/91 Sessions
  • Won the Justice Galadima’s Prize for the Best Advocate during The Moot Court/Mock Trials held in Unijos: 1991/92

Session

  • University of Jos Prize for the Best Graduating Student in the Faculty of Law: 1991/92 Session
  • R.A.O Akinjide’s Prize for the Best Graduating Student in the Faculty of Law: 1991/92 Session
  • Gally-Brown Peterside’s Prize for the Best Graduating Student in the Faculty of Law: 1991/92 Session
  • SMA Belgore Distinguished Chair as a Professor of Law at the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Abuja

He was Lecturer at the:

  • University of Jos, Jos, Nigeria;
  • Plateau School of Accountancy and Management Studies, Jos; and
  • ANAN College of Accountancy, Jos. 

He was a Senior Lecturer at the Nigerian Law School, Abuja, and General Counsel/Head of Secretariat, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Abuja. As Head of Secretariat, BPE, he covered the meetings of the National Council on Privatization (NCP), Technical Committee of the NCP and Management Committee of BPE. He is now occupying the SMA Belgore Distinguished Chair as a Professor of Law at the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Abuja. At the Institute, he has acted as Head of Department of Commercial Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution; Director of Research and Director General. He is a Legal Consultant, Arbitrator, Regulatory/Alternative Dispute Resolution [ADR] and Public-Private-Partnership [PPP] Specialist. He has taught ADR processes, corporate law, international economic law and investment law. He has also taught Corporate Governance, Company Secretarial Practice and Law/Procedure of Meetings. He has been involved in the negotiation and drafting of several commercial instruments on behalf of public and private entities – Loan Agreements, Share Purchase Agreement, Shareholders Agreement, Power Purchase Agreement, Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement, Non- Disclosure and Confidentiality Agreement, Concession Agreement, Disclosure Letters, Request for Proposals, Escrow Agreement, Asset Sale Agreement, Pre-contractual documents like Memorandum of Understanding, Heads of Agreements and Term Sheet, among others. As General Counsel at the BPE, he was involved in the first draft of the Petroleum Industry Bill in 2005-2008. He was also involved in the unbundling of the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) into the initial holding company, Power Holding Company of Nigeria PLC) and subsequent transfers to generation, transmission and distribution companies; privatization of Eleme Petrochemical Limited, Transcorp Hilton Hotel, National Insurance Corporation; the concession/lease of the port terminals in Lagos, Warri, Port Harcourt and Calabar, among other public enterprises.

He attended Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, Essex, UK; the University of Jos, Nigeria and the Nigerian Law School, Lagos, Nigeria.

He has published extensively in local and international journals on ADR processes, company law, company secretarial practice, public finance, constitutional law, international economic law, investment law, investor-state dispute resolution, law reform and private sector participation in infrastructure delivery. His works are cited in several international journals and judgments.

He is listed as an Arbitrator in the Arbitration Review Tool (ART) of the Global Arbitration Review (GAR) available at https://globalarbitrationreview.com/. He has handled several commercial arbitration and investment treaty arbitration as a Counsel or Arbitrator. He has done a lot of work in the oil and gas sector, construction, maritime, mines and minerals, real estate development, hospitality, ports, amongst others. More specifically out of the five (5) Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) executed with the International Oil Companies (IOCs) in 1993 that resulted in arbitration, he was involved in two of them as a Party-Appointed Arbitrator. Similarly, he was a Counsel in the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) Arbitration involving the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN) and Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited (SNUD) – the OPL 245 – Malabu Dispute.

Contact Details:

Prof Paul Obo Idornigie, SAN & Associates No 1 Durban Street
Off Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent
Wuse 2, Abuja, Nigeria, 
Phone: +234 803 311 4797
Email: prof@paulidornigie.org or paul.idornigie@gmail.com

October 2020