NBA President; Vote J.K. Gadzama, SAN

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Chief Joe-Kyari Gadzama

SAN, OFR, MFR, FCIArb. (UK)

(Of Lincolns Inn, Barrister/Life Bencher/CEDR Accredited Mediator)

PRACTICE AREAS

• Litigation
• Election Petitions
• Capital Markets
• Arbitration and Mediation
• Corporate & Commercial Law
• Project Finance

EDUCATION

• Nigerian Law School, Lagos (1986, B.L)
• University of Maiduguri (LL.B Hons,1985)
• Keble College, Oxford University, UK 2006
• London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
• Called to the English Bar, Lincoln’s Inn 2008
• Institute for Public-Private Partnerships (IP3), Allington, USA, 2009

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS/ACTIVITIES

• International Bar Association
• Nigerian Bar Association
• American Bar Association (Associate)
• Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK)
• African Bar Association
• Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association
• Pan African Lawyers’ Union
• West African Bar Association
• Chairman, Vox Populi Foundation for Leadership
• Pioneer Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Section on Public Interest and Development Law (SPIDEL)
• Former Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Abuja Branch.
• Chairman, Janada International Center for Arbitration and Mediation (JICAM)

Called to the Nigerian Bar in 1986 and enrolled at the Supreme Court of Nigeria the same year, Chief J-K Gadzama was appointed Notary Public in June 1996 and elevated to the worthy rank of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in 1998. His professional experience spans a vast area of adjectival/procedural and substantive law. A worthy professional par excellence, he has been external Solicitor to several Merchant, Commercial, Development and Industrial Banks; adviser to major multinational corporations and indigenous companies and organizations and network of individuals in Nigeria. He was the lead Counsel to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and also was the Chief Legal Counsel to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He is registered with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), Abuja as a Capital Market Consultant and was a partner in the legal consortium of Legal Advisory Partnership (LAP), comprising foreign and indigenous lawyers charged with the responsibility of providing legal services to the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) Abuja, from April 2004 to July 2007. Aside this very important assignment, he is a Legal Consultant to Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), the Secretariat of the National Council on Privatization (NCP), chaired by the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Chief J-K Gadzama has been recognized in the international scene, as his expert opinion on the nature of damages recoverable under Nigerian Law, was recently in 2015 sought in Toulouse, France before The Tribunal De Grande Instance De Toulouse. He has been recognized by Intercontinental Finance Magazine (ICFM) in 2015 as one of the 500 best lawyers in the world. He is also featured on Who’s Who Legal as an Arbitration Expert. He was recently appointed Liquidator to wind up the Power Holding Company of Nigeria ( PHCN) PLC and also provide Legal Advisory Services for the winding up proceedings.
Due to his Anti-corruption posture, he was appointed the Chairman, Legal Team of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and he was also Chairman, National Working Group on the Rome Statute constituted by the office of the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation.
Until recently, Chief Gadzama was a Federal Commissioner/Board Member with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission of Nigeria (ICRC), Board Member, Diamond Pension Fund Custodian and Board Member, University of Benin Governing Council.

J-K Gadzama: Silver jubilee of selfless legal service to humanity

By AMEH EJEKWONYILO On 24/02/2016 03:26:08 AM

AMEH EJEKWONYILO writes on the commissioning of Joe-Kyari Gadzama (SAN)’s ultra-modern court and 25th anniversary of the chambers headquarters in Abuja.

Legal icon and philanthropist, Chief J. K Gadzama (SAN) last Tuesday, February 9, brought people from all walks of life to Abuja, the nation’s capital.
From the cosmopolitan Lagos to the rustic Lassa in Borno State these personalities cutting across the various strata of the country’s economy came in droves to cel­ebrate with one of the finest minds in Nigeria’s legal profession.
They all heaped encomiums on Chief Gadzama for his hard work that took him to the pinnacle of the profession, and more importantly using his legal prowess in render­ing legal services to humanity.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mu­hammed chaired the occasion. In his opening remarks, Justice Mu­hammed commended Gadzama for erecting a structure that is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also symbolises a physical legacy to the law. The CJN applauded Gadzama’s sophisticated, but self­less disposition towards ordinary people in the establishment of the firm’s offices in the United King­dom (UK) and the United States of America as well as the rural Lassa in Borno State.
“From humble beginnings in Maiduguri a quarter of a century ago, through various incarnations in its name, the firm has trans­formed from being a local law firm, as the founder of the firm (Gadzama) humbly claims, to be­coming a household name in the delivery of qualitative legal practice in Nigeria.
“The firm’s offices in the UK and the USA further bear testi­mony to its growth to other climes, but most remarkably its office in Lassa is perhaps a reflection of the founder’s humility and dedication to justice regardless of the locale and calibre of client,” Justice Mo­hammed said.
After a tour of facilities in the building with other dignitaries, the CJN noted that with the provision of facilities such as a Moot Court, client-oriented waiting rooms, cha­lets for staff and a well-equipped library complete with a section providing access to the most com­prehensible legal research bases in the world, among others, Gadzama in keeping with a career marked by industry and innovation, “has con­sistently delivered a high standard of advocacy, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and exemplary leadership at the Bar.
“I have always opined that chambers is not only defined by the glitz of the glass. It is shaped by the level of integrity, competence and erudition that is contained within its four walls,” intoned the CJN.
While digressing from the main business of the day, the head of the country’s judiciary, offered some words of counsel to lawyers on the expectations of the legal profession.
The CJN urged legal practitio­ners to first pursue the end of jus­tice above monetary or any other considerations, reminding them of the charge to “serve Nigeria and serve humanity in justice without fear or favour, affection or I’ll-will.”
“We must all be guided by our conscience and do our part to pre­serve our independence and our determination to act in accordance with the rule of law, no matter whose ox is gored.
“We cannot bring down the le­gal profession and we cannot devi­ate from the path of justice.”
In a keynote address, the imme­diate past Director-General, Nige­rian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), Prof. Epiphany Azinge (SAN), lauded Gadzama for establishing a “5 star law office”, saying it is easily the best in Africa South of the Sahara.
Azinege noted that the magnifi­cent edifice when compared with similar law offices in Europe and the USA, it eminently qualified to be classified in the category of “Magic Circle Law Firms.”
He further submitted that Gadzama’s gigantic law firm elo­quently tells the success story of the nation’s legal practice.
“Time was when trending law offices occupy just a flat or 2 room apartment at Igbosere in Lagos.
“Today, it is an index of how ex­cellently well, the legal profession in Nigeria has blossomed that we can now afford to compete favour­ably with the Magic Circle Law Firms and the Niche Law Firms all over the worldd.”
The Learned Silk explained that five star law offices are not luxury apartments, but that they are pri­marily factories for incubation of ideas and for efficient and effective legal service delivery.
For a former CJN, Justice Mo­hammed Uwais, hard work and aspiration for the future engineered Gadzama to succeed.
Justice pointed out that such qualities should be emulated by young lawyers if they choose to make a remarkable legal career, lamenting that exposure and skills were lacking among young wigs.
In his goodwill message, the Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Justice Ishaq Bello observed that the celebrant’s rise to the pinnacle of private legal practice was made possible by his commitment and determination to succeed in the face of daunting challenges.
Justice Bello eulogised Gadza­ma’s effort in bringing to bare the idea of specialisation in legal prac­tice.
“The edifice is an embodiment of specialisation in law practice. Specialisation will enrich adjudica­tion and enhance speedy dispensa­tion of justice,” Justice Bello said.
Speaking in the same vein, Di­rector-General, Nigerian Law School, Mr. Olanrewaju Onadeko, traced Gadzama’s early beginning as a law student at Igbosere in La­gos. He highlighted that diligence, focus, and discipline for Gadzama’s success, saying it was not sheer luck.
The Law School boss com­mended the legal icon (Gadzama) for instituting a prize at the law school as a way of mentoring and inspiring law students to embrace hard work, while urging other senior members of the Bar to fol­low suit in endowing prizes at the school.
While welcoming guests to the epochal event, the Head of Cham­bers at Gadzama Limited Liability Partnership, Mr. Henry Ihunde, said the occasion marked the ful­fillment of Gadzama’s dream of building a magnificent law office that would be the glory of the pro­fession.
In his speech, Gadzama re­counted what he termed the “long journey” of his venture into per­sonal legal practice in 1989, after his pupillage with his elder cousin’s firm, A. Ismail Gadzama and Co in Kano where he cut his legal teeth.
He narrated the story thus: “the embryonic part of my legal prac­tice was not easy-going. Armed with my new wig and gown, from Ede and Ravenscroft, London bought for me by my elder cousin, Mallam Hamidu Wathanafa, as I could not afford quality ones, I started off with a N10,000 soft loan from my elder sister, Mrs. Mary Jidai Mamza, which I later repaid.
“From being a local law firm in Maiduguri handling mainly land transactions and simple contracts, the firm now provides a wide range of legal services in various aspects of law ranging from lo­cal to international services and transactions.”
Gadzama in his characteristic nature of not ascribing the glory for any of his accomplishments to himself alone, attributed the major strength of the firm to his mem­bers of staff, particularly his part­ners whom he said had worked tirelessly for whatever the has be­come today.
The emotional point of the event was Gadzama’s mentioning of the Janada International Cen­tre for Arbitration and Mediation which was named after his late wife as well as the Dome (Staff Common Rome) which is to be named after his slain colleague, Pastor Uluba Mai. Jawur, whom he said was brutally assassinated by gunmen in broad day light last year in Keffi, Nassarawa State, while he was on an official assign­ment to Court of Appeal Jos, Pla­teau State.
The roll call of dignitaries was endless as both members of the Bar and Bench thronged the event to identify with one of their own in the person of the celebrant.
They include: Former AGF Bayo Ojo (SAN), Chief Wole Ola­nipekun (SAN), Prof. Awa Kaulu (SAN), Governor Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi State, Direc­tor-General of the Nigerian Law School Mr. Olanrewaju Onadeko, Justice Mary Odili of the Supreme Court, Chief Judge of the FCT Jus­tice Ishaq Bello among others.
In the words of the CJN, the reward for hard work is more work!

Lawyers’ Forum N/E adopts Gadzama as candidate for NBA’s Presidency in July

By Isa Abdulsalami Ahovi   |   09 April 2016   |   3:57 am

The Arewa Lawyers’ Forum of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in the North East rose from its meeting yesterday with a resolve to unanimously adopt Chief Joe-Kyari Gadzama (SAN) as their candidate for the presidency of the NBA in the forthcoming general election. Having considered and appraised all the candidates, and based on seniority at the Inner Bar and contributions towards the progress of the Bar, the profession, Arewa Lawyers’ Forum, welfare and interest of lawyers of Arewa extraction, “we the undersigned unanimously adopt Chief J.K. Gadzama (SAN) as the candidate for the Presidency of the NBA in the forthcoming NBA election that the entire lawyers from the North East will support and vote for,” the resolution added. The resolution of the forum which was signed by 13 Branch chairman and secretaries of the NBA from their various states held in Bauchi yesterday, said the issue of the forthcoming national election of the NBA was fully and exhaustively deliberated upon where all the candidates vying for the position of the President of the NBA were x-rayed. The national election will hold in July through electronic system.