Q&A | Theo Osanakpo | Commercial

Okay, my name is Theo Chik Oanapo. I’m founder and managing council of law firm of Dr. TC Osanapo and Co. which has been in proven legal practice for well over three decades. And our areas of specialization are essentially in the oil and gas sector, corporate and commercial transactions, intellectual property law, dispute resolution, cross-border transaction and public private partnerships.

Yeah, basically in the international I mean the oil and gas sector we deal with some of the operating major companies that operating in that space and also the oil service you know companies. Our main focus essentially is to ensure that the engaging companies comply with estant and applicable law that regulates the ecosystem they operate with respect to corporate and commercial transactions.

For foreigners who are seeking to do business in Nigeria, it’s our responsibility to guide them to ensure that their companies are duly incorporated and ensure that compliance issues are really adher to. Then besides that we also get involved in terms of all sorts of commercial documentation and also litigations affecting corporate bodies, international and oil and gas sector.

But the main focus is to ensure that litigations are discouraged. We try to utilize dispute resolution mechanism to deploy it to ensure that people who are doing business do not spend a long time in court you know over a protected length of time. We’re also involved in intellectual property and then intellectual property the focus areas are to ensure that persons seeking to protect their goods their trademarks are properly registered to ensure that if there is any form of infringement then there can be a legal remedy for

them. We deal with that as it relates to trademarks as it relates to patents. We have to assertain that what they are seeking to seek a patent for is indeed an innovation and then if it’s an innovation they’ll be properly guided to ensure that all the compliance issues are head to so that what they will seek to patent in due course or whenever they wish are properly you know done. Then also the same principle applies to copyrights you know things to ensure that works are properly

registered to ensure that when infringement arise there can be a legal remedy. Then apart you know from that we’re also involved in cross-border transactions. When we talk about cross-border transactions, the focus is on economic community of West African states called echoas. The purpose of it is to ensure seamless transactions pertaining to movement of goods, persons and services.

More importantly again is that in all this transaction one of our greatest strengths is to deploy skills in dispute resolution to working through contractual documents ADR things that will checkmate on the litigations then that’s basically what it is then also Public private partnership.

Public partnership we have a proven experience in terms of public private partnership in respect of the housing sector involving a state government and a corporate entity and then ensure the actualization of it. You can Google and you can see G estates is 100 you know several hundreds of units of houses. We articulated it from advisory to litigation to ensure that it is seamless. So that’s basically what I think our unique skills you know we have in terms of proving experience.

And then again in the oil and gas sector it’s also important that there are usually group actions against the oil measures and then we also ensure that we deal with the litigations and equally deploy dispute resolution mechanism to avoid protracted litigations.

We engage corporate bodies. We also engage individual clients. We also engage with some of the oil majors and then also companies that do business called oil service sector in the oil and gas you know space. So these are the type of you know things you know we deal with.

Okay. The highlights I would like to mention is from an academic point of view. I hold a PhD degree in law from University of Exata in England. I am also a senior advocate of Nigeria. That is the highest legal distinction that can be conferred to a practicing lawyer in Nigeria and I’m also a life bencher.

Now in terms of things that I also like to highlight in terms of proving experience, we have acted as legal council for a bank that was looking for capitalization you know and it was done seamless and we also involved for a company which perhaps you know Colgate that was seeking to buy into a local entity. we guided through that you know process that is in that direction and then in terms of landmark cases for purpose of time I would like to limit myself to two instances about

cases involving federal government agency and involving Chevron. Now these two cases move from the trial court court of appeal and the Supreme Court. And what are the issues? One the one dealing with federal government agency oil and gas reason authority against us. The critical question that was the issue was that whether simple contract should be adjudicated by a state high court or by federal high court.

We argued that case at the trial courts. The trial courts agreed that it should be done by the state high courts. The federal government agency further appealed to the court of appeal. They ruled the same that the federal high court has no jurisdiction because it is not covered within the provisions of exclusive judicial high court and same was also upheld at the Supreme Court.

Then the other one also dealt with Chevron and the two critical issues there were as follows. Whether service was done in accordance with sheriffs and civil process act applicable law that regulates service of parties outside a particular juration within the Nigerian legal space. That matter was litigated up to the Supreme Court and the court held in favor of Chevron that the damages the group of people were seeking that the required process of service was not adhered to and that Chevron was also deprived of right of fair hearing and

their matter was dismissed at high court court of appeal and Supreme Court. So these are the two that I would like to highlight for purpose of time. Then in terms of cross-border transactions they are becoming very important today because because of cross-border transaction in terms of liberalization of economic freedoms goods persons essentially you know we are very familiar with things you need to do to do transaction seamless from one member state to the other and we’ve been involved In doing that well basically cross fertilization of

ideas to fill in gaps and explore knowledge you know from other people you know things that are done in other jurisdictions that could become relevant in our jurisdiction and then if you have an opportunity then those conversations can help for you to deploy it in your in one’s engagements in with you know such whenever such a client comes and lastly referrals