Dr. Emeka Akabogu, SAN

Dr. Emeka Akabogu SAN is a commercial lawyer more widely recognised for his expertise in the field of maritime law and policy in Nigeria. He is the Senior Partner at the law firm, Akabogu & Associates, which is active in shipping, maritime, petroleum and international trade law. A transactions and disputes lawyer, he uniquely combines his legal skills with in-depth understanding of markets and operations in the shipping and petroleum sectors.

He is instrumental to the development of several important legislations in the Nigerian maritime industry, including the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act 2003, the Marine Environmental Management Regulations 2012, and the Nigerian Stevedoring Regulations 2014. In addition to success as counsel in several landmark shipping and petroleum industry cases, he has anchored crucial capacity development initiatives in the Nigerian maritime and petroleum sectors, training thousands of operators and practitioners on markets, operations, policies and laws.

Dr. Akabogu is a graduate of the University of Lagos, and holds a Master’s degree (LL.M.) from the University College London, in addition to Magister Juris and Doctorate degrees from the IMO International Maritime Law Institute, Malta. His published books are ‘Maritime Cabotage in Nigeria’, ‘Ship Arrest in Nigeria’ and ‘Nigerian Ports Law and Practice’. He is the co-editor of the ‘Nigerian Shipping Cases’, which is Nigeria’s pioneer, longest-running compilation of case reports for shipping and maritime law. He is the editor of the ‘Journal of Contemporary Nigerian Admiralty Law’, and publisher of Marine and Petroleum Nigeria.

Dr. Akabogu is the founder and Vice Chairman of OTL Downstream Development in Africa Ltd./Gte., a pan-African initiative for promotion of downstream petroleum business and policy that organizes Africa’s biggest downstream petroleum forum, OTL Africa Downstream Energy Week. He is also the Founder and Convener of the Nigeria International Maritime Summit, which aggregates all operators and professionals in Nigeria’s maritime industry.

A recipient of numerous industry awards of excellence, Dr. Akabogu is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Shipping (Nigeria) and a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, Maritime Arbitrators Association of Nigeria, Nigerian Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Energy Institute. He is also a member of the Board of Governors of the Centre for Petroleum Information.