Biography

Dapo is the firm’s Managing Partner and heads the Dispute Resolution Practice.

He was admitted to practice law in Nigeria in 1988 and in England and Wales in 2009.  He has over 36 years’ experience in commercial litigation and arbitration and has acted as counsel and arbitrator in several international and domestic arbitral proceedings for over three decades. He has practised extensively before all the superior courts of record in Nigeria.

His practice is focused on the resolution of complex disputes and rendering advice to clients from around the world on matters relating to Oil and Gas, Maritime, Tax, Transportation, Construction, FMCG, Mining and Banking and Finance matters.  He also renders advisory services to international financial and lending institutions, commercial and merchant banks, leasing companies, insurance companies, investment companies and other financial institutions.

Dapo was appointed a Notary Public in 2006, was elevated to the prestigious rank of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 2020 and was appointed as a Delegate to the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR in 2022.

He is recognised as a Global Thought Leader and Africa Thought Leader in Commercial Litigation and as a Global and National Leader in Commercial Litigation and Arbitration by Who’s Who Legal. He is also ranked ‘highly regarded’ in Tax Controversy by IFLR1000 and recognised as a respected litigator in the Chambers Global Directory.

Adedapo heads the editorial team of the Aviation Law Reports of Nigeria (AVLRN), a specialised report covering judgments of the Nigerian Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court on aviation matters.

Certifications

LL.M, University of Lagos.
BL, Nigerian Law School.
LL.B, University of Benin.

Professional Associations

Nigerian Bar Association
International Bar Association
Chartered Institute of Arbitration (UK)
Chartered Institute of Taxation
Institute of Construction Arbitrators
London Court of International Arbitration (African Users’ Council)
Lagos Court of Arbitration

Professional Appointments

Member, Kigali International Arbitration Centre’s panel of international arbitrators
Member of Faculty, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK).

Select International Commercial Arbitration Experience

Lead Counsel in a maritime arbitration arising out of the breach of a Charterparty between a multinational and a vessel operator.

Lead Counsel in an arbitration between a family trust and a construction firm arising out of the breach of a development agreement.

C0-counsel in an investor-state arbitration for claims of expropriation by a multinational aluminium smelting company against the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Counsel to 4 major upstream companies in a US$3.5 billion arbitration claim against the national oil corporation over the consolidation of oil prospecting licenses, cost recovery, calculation of Tax Oil and Investment Tax Credits.

Counsel to an international construction company in a US$724 million claim for the breach of a golf course design and construction contract.

Co-Counsel to an oil company in arbitration proceedings between parties to a unitization agreement, arising out of an independent expert decision in the equity determination process in the oil field. Value of equity redetermination in dispute – approx. US$1.5 billion. He further represented the client in lawsuits to set aside the arbitral award from the Federal High Court to the Supreme Court and obtained judgments of the all the courts, dismissing the challenge and upholding the arbitral award.

Counsel to an international oil and gas company in a multi-million dollar claim for the termination of a gas supply contract.

Counsel to two upstream financing partners in a US$287 million claim for the breach of a farm-in agreement.

Counsel to a joint venture partner in a US$150 million claim arising out of disputes on the profit-sharing formula on an oil field.