Chuka Francis Agbu

chukagbu@babalakinandco.com____________________________

Educational Background

Chuka attended the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Ile-Ife, in Nigeria where he obtained an LL.B (Hons.) in 1981. In 1994, he obtained a Masters Degree in International Law and Diplomacy (M.I.L.D) from the University of Lagos and gained another Masters degree in Maritime and Commercial Law (LL.M) from the Lagos State University in 2005. Chuka was admitted to the Bar in 1982. 

Professional Background

Chuka has, since his admission to the Bar, had an unbroken career in litigation and commercial law practice. He has been a partner in the firm and a Notary Public for Nigeria.

Notable Works Undertaken

Chuka specialises in commercial litigation both at trial and appellate court levels. He has litigated on an extensive range of areas including contract law, taxation law, maritime law, receiverships, and intellectual property where he leads the firm’s team representing a major international operating system/software company in several anti-piracy actions (Anti-piracy litigation).

Chuka, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, has also been involved in commercial arbitration and has acted in several arbitration proceedings in disputes within the Oil and Gas sector where, as counsel, he represents a major corporation of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Chuka is involved in Alternative Dispute Resolution, particularly in legal development efforts in the area of mediation, where he sits on the Governing Council of the Citizens’ Mediation Centre of the Ministry of Justice, Lagos State, a position he has held for the past four years. As an instructor, he has acted in the faculty for the training of Mediators including Judges, in several states of Nigeria under the programmes of the Department for International Development, United Kingdom (DFID) of the British Council, Nigeria and has acted as a resource person in Negotiation classes of the Lagos Business School.

He has also consulted for the United Nations, particularly assisting in the drafting of an Alternative Dispute Resolution Manual for Ghana and the setting up of mediation centers in that country. Chuka is accredited by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) in the United Kingdom and was, for 4 years, the President of the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (ICMC) in Nigeria.

Chuka has extensive experience, spanning over two decades, in the negotiation of commercial agreements and he is approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission to carry on legal services in the Nigerian Capital Market.

Relevant publications / Conference presentations

‘Towards a Quick Resolution of Commercial Disputes in our Legal System’.

‘Arbitration: A Preferred Alternative to Litigation in International Commercial Disputes’.

‘Alternative Dispute Resolution as an Option to Election Disputes Settlement in Nigeria’.

‘The Hospitality Franchise Agreement: A Tool for Investments Promotion in Nigeria’.

‘Franchising and Licensing Contracts’.

‘Conciliation in Nigeria’.

‘The Relevance of Advocacy in the Legal Profession’.

‘Arbitration as a Viable Method of Dispute Resolution’.

Practice Areas

Litigation, Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution

Real Estate, Infrastructure and Construction

Hospitality and Leisure Industries

Corporate, Commercial and Compliance

Transportation (Maritime and Aviation)

Professional Membership

Member, International Bar Association (Currently the Regional Representative for Africa in the Leisure Industries Section)

Member, Nigeria Bar Association (National Executive Council member, Pioneer Chairman of Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Law Committee, Section on Business Law)

Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, United Kingdom (FCIArb)

Fellow, (and Past President) Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators