The 13th edition of the Nigerian Legal Awards will take place on Sunday, November 15, 2026, at the Landmark Event Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, bringing together leading lawyers, business executives, public officials and corporate institutions to recognise professional excellence and the contributions of the legal profession to Nigeria’s economic development.
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The organisers, ESQ Trainings Limited, publishers of ESQ Legal Practice Magazine, announced the event in a statement issued on November 7, 2026, explaining that this year’s edition would place particular emphasis on legal expertise, corporate leadership, regulatory institutions and major commercial transactions shaping the Nigerian economy.
According to the organisers, the awards are designed to recognise not only outstanding lawyers and law firms but also the legal, financial, commercial and regulatory expertise required to structure, negotiate and complete transactions that contribute to business growth and national development.
The 2026 edition will particularly examine major financial and commercial transactions undertaken between August 2024 and September 2026, with attention to their economic scale and the professional work involved in bringing them to completion.
Among the personalities scheduled for recognition are Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang; former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, H. Odein Ajumogobia, SAN, OFR; Group Chief Executive of Oando Plc, Adewale Tinubu, CON; and Senator Adeniyi Adegbonmire, SAN.
The organisers explained that Mutfwang’s recognition reflects the importance of public leadership, governance and the institutional conditions necessary for economic development.
They noted that his administration in Plateau State had emphasised peace and security, infrastructure development and economic renewal, identifying these as important factors in creating a supportive environment for economic activity.
Ajumogobia, a founding partner of Ajumogobia & Okeke, will receive a Lifetime Achievement recognition for what the organisers described as “a career of significant contribution to the legal profession and public life”.
His professional career spans corporate and commercial law, energy and natural resources, arbitration and public administration, alongside his service as a former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Adewale Tinubu will also be recognised for his contributions to indigenous enterprise and the development of Nigeria’s energy industry.
The organisers described him as a prominent figure in the sector, noting that Oando Plc had developed from a petroleum marketing business into an integrated energy group with interests in exploration and production, gas, power, trading and energy services.
Senator Adegbonmire’s recognition, according to the organisers, underscores the importance of legal knowledge and professional experience in institutions responsible for shaping public policy and national development.
Beyond individual achievements, the awards will recognise regulatory institutions, including the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), among others.
The organisers said the recognition of these institutions would highlight the importance of effective regulation in telecommunications, capital markets and other sectors critical to economic growth.
The programme will also draw attention to major transactions undertaken during the assessment period, particularly those requiring sophisticated legal structuring, financing arrangements, corporate approvals and regulatory compliance.
Among the transactions identified for Editors’ recognition is the financing arrangement involving Dangote Industries Limited.
In August 2025, the African Export-Import Bank announced a $1.35 billion facility for Dangote Industries Limited as part of an approximately $4 billion syndicated financing arrangement intended to refinance capital invested in the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals Complex.
The organisers also identified the acquisition by Heirs Group of a 20.07 per cent interest in Seplat Energy Plc from French company Maurel & Prom.
The transaction, valued at approximately $496 million, made Heirs Group Seplat Energy’s largest shareholder at the time.
Another transaction highlighted was the acquisition of a 95 per cent interest in Amperion Power Distribution Company Limited, the majority shareholder of Geregu Power Plc, by MA’AM Energy.
The deal, completed in December 2025 and reportedly valued at approximately $750 million, resulted in the transfer of indirect control of about 77 per cent of Geregu Power.
The acquisition of a 60 per cent controlling interest in Eko Electricity Distribution Company by Transgrid Enerco Limited was also identified among the transactions under consideration.
Completed in December 2025, the transaction involved a consortium comprising North-South Power, Axxela and the Stanbic IBTC Infrastructure Growth Fund.
In the consumer goods sector, the organisers highlighted UAC of Nigeria Plc’s acquisition of CHI Limited, the company behind the Chivita and Hollandia brands.
The transaction was completed in October 2025 following regulatory approval.
Also listed was the acquisition by Helios Investment Partners of Frigoglass Group’s Nigerian glass packaging business, involving Beta Glass Plc and related operations.
The transaction, completed in February 2026, was reportedly valued at approximately €100 million.
In the oil and gas sector, the awards will draw attention to TotalEnergies’ divestment of its 12.5 per cent non-operated interest in the OML 118 Production Sharing Contract, which includes the Bonga oil field.
The $510 million transaction, completed in November 2025, involved Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company acquiring a 10 per cent interest and Nigerian Agip Exploration acquiring the remaining 2.5 per cent.
The organisers also identified the proposed acquisition involving MTN Group and IHS Holdings.
In February 2026, MTN announced an agreement to acquire approximately 75 per cent of IHS Holdings that it did not already own.
Unlike the completed transactions highlighted in the programme, the MTN-IHS transaction remained subject to outstanding regulatory approvals as of the latest reported update in 2026.
According to the organisers, the transactions demonstrate the importance of lawyers in facilitating complex business arrangements, particularly through due diligence, deal structuring, negotiation, risk allocation, financing documentation, regulatory engagement and the management of contractual and corporate obligations.
They maintained that the legal work behind such transactions often receives less public attention than the financial values involved, despite its importance to their successful execution.
The awards will therefore seek to make the contributions of lawyers, law firms and in-house legal teams more visible within the wider business community.
Several law firms are participating in the competition across different award categories.
They include Aluko & Oyebode, G. Elias & Co, Metropolitan Law Firm, Bloomfield Law Practice, Streamsowers & Köhn, Jackson, Etti & Edu, and Duale, Ovia & Alex-Adedipe, alongside other participating firms.
The awards will also recognise the contributions of in-house legal departments across various industries and practice areas.
These include mergers and acquisitions, banking and finance, energy, infrastructure, capital markets, dispute resolution, competition law, technology and corporate governance.
To ensure credibility in the selection process, the organisers disclosed that the 2026 edition would be assessed by an independent panel drawn from legal practice, international law firms, corporate leadership and other professional fields.
Members of the judging panel include Kamal Shah, Yemi Candide-Johnson, SAN, Harold Brako, Ola Belgore, Scott Cowan, Hakeem Oguniran, Sir Kofo Alada-Salam, Foluke Akinmoladun and Matthew Wood.
The organisers explained that the assessment process would be guided by a published methodology involving structured evaluation, examination of supporting evidence, verification and declarations of conflicts of interest.
They stressed that the awards were not intended to operate as a popularity contest, adding that the size of an organisation, its commercial relationships or sponsorship of the event should not determine the outcome.
According to them, sponsorship arrangements and the independent assessment process are kept separate to protect the integrity of the awards.
The organisers further disclosed that the 2026 edition had introduced greater use of technology in the nomination, evaluation, verification and judging processes.
Speaking on the development, the Founder of ESQ Trainings Limited, publisher of ESQ Legal Practice Magazine and Convener of the awards, Lere Fashola, said technological improvements were necessary to strengthen the credibility and efficiency of the programme.
“The legal profession is changing, and the way we recognise excellence must evolve with it. Technology has enabled us to strengthen the nomination and evaluation process, organise supporting evidence more effectively, improve verification and make the work of our independent judges more structured and efficient,” Fashola said.
He, however, emphasised that technological tools must complement, rather than replace, the experience and independence of those responsible for assessing professional excellence.
“But technology is not a substitute for judgement. The final assessment of professional excellence must remain in the hands of experienced, independent people. Our objective is to combine the best of technology with the integrity, wisdom and professional judgement on which the credibility of these awards depends,” he added.
Fashola further explained that the event was intended to reinforce the connection between legal excellence, corporate governance and sustainable economic development.
According to him, businesses require more than access to capital and commercial opportunities to grow successfully, as sound legal structures and effective risk management remain essential to their operations.
“Businesses do not grow on capital and commercial ambition alone. They also require sound legal structures, good governance, effective risk management and confidence that their transactions and decisions are properly supported. Lawyers are central to that process. The Nigerian Legal Awards exists to recognise that contribution and to remind the business community that legal excellence is an important part of economic infrastructure,” he stated.
The organisers disclosed that winners would receive The Crystal Trophy, a bespoke, handcrafted award designed to represent “clarity, integrity, transparency and distinction”.
Each trophy will carry an engraved inscription identifying the award category.
Beyond the presentation of awards, the organisers said the event would provide an opportunity for interaction among members of the legal profession, corporate leaders, public officials and representatives of institutions involved in business and economic development.
The Co-Founder and Director of Programmes at ESQ Trainings Limited, Temitayo Samuel, who is coordinating the awards dinner, said arrangements were being made to ensure that the occasion reflected the achievements of those being recognised.
“We want this year’s dinner to be a memorable occasion for our award recipients, their families, colleagues, guests and partners. The people we are celebrating have made important contributions to businesses and institutions, and we believe the occasion should reflect the significance of those contributions,” Samuel said.
She explained that the planning team was paying attention to hospitality, the atmosphere of the venue and opportunities for professional networking.
“Our team is paying attention to the details that make an evening special: the welcome, the atmosphere, the hospitality and the opportunity for people from different parts of the legal and business communities to connect. We look forward to welcoming our guests to an evening that celebrates excellence, achievement and the relationships that help move our economy forward,” she added.
The organisers reiterated that the central objective of the Nigerian Legal Awards was to demonstrate that the work of lawyers extends beyond courtroom advocacy to the development and operation of businesses, institutions and the wider economy.
They maintained that “the contribution of lawyers to business is not peripheral to economic development. It is one of its essential foundations.”
The 13th Nigerian Legal Awards will be held on November 15, 2026, at the Landmark Event Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, with event information, award details and table reservations available through the Nigerian Legal Awards website.
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