Contact Info

Valentine Igbonekwu

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Position:

Senior Associate

Expertise:

Energy and Extractive Industries.
Construction, Real Estate and Maritime.
Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution.

CAREER / HONORS

Awarded the Judemark Scholarship for promising law students.
Beneficiary, Justice C.C. Nweze Academic Award.

REPRESENTATIVE WORK

Part of the team that advised National Assembly on amendment to the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act.

Part of the team that advised a Nigerian oil and gas company on the potential implications of a pending lawsuit on its billion-dollar acquisition of an oil mining lease.
Part of the team that advised a leading multinational oil Exploration Company on the legitimacy of the Bayelsa State Development Permit Demand Notices.
Successfully represented a multinational oil exploration company in a multi-million dollar claim by an indigenous contractor for works done at Forcados Yokri Integrated Project (“FYIP”) for the installation of the replacement of dual 6” x 500m carbon steel bulklines for Cluster 1 (Forc 37) in the Forcados estuary.
Part of the legal team that successfully represented a leading indigenous construction company in several high-stake law suits arising from alleged breach of contract.
Part of the legal team that advises a major concessionaire in the aviation industry.
Part of the legal team representing a US Multinational company in a number of complex arbitral disputes with huge claims.
Part of the legal team representing a foreign-based multinational oil exploration and production company at the appellate courts and the Federal Court in Nigeria in an appeal arising from a judgment sum worth hundreds of billions of naira and claims exceeding hundreds of billions of naira, respectively.
Part of the legal team representing the legal interest of multinational oil company in Nigeria’s Magistrate, State, Federal and Appellate courts in respect of several multi-billion Naira claims arising from purported oil spill disputes in the Niger Delta.
Part of the team of lawyers representing a leading multinational liquefied gas company in several high-stake law suits.
Part of the legal team that successfully represented the legal interest of an indigenous oil exploration company in a multi-billion-dollar and over a billion-naira claims arising from alleged breach of contract.
Member of the legal team that successfully represented a multi-billion naira claim against a multinational oil company arising from its mining activities.
Part of the team of lawyers that successfully represented a leading multinational liquefied gas company in a criminal charge.
Member of the legal team representing a leading indigenous oil servicing company in a claim worth south of a billion dollars arising from an alleged breach of contract.
Part of the team currently engaged in a global asset tracking and recovery for the estate of one of the pioneer political leaders in Nigeria.

EDUCATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

LLB (Hons) University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State.
Admitted to the Nigerian Bar in 2020.

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP

Member, Lawyers in Energy Network, Nigeria.
Member, International Bar Association.
Member, Nigerian Bar Association.
Nigerian Bar Association-Section on Business Law.
Nigerian Bar Association’s Young Lawyers’ Forum.
International Chamber of Commerce-Young Arbitrators Forum.
Associate, Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators.