Senior lawyers and arbitrators have been pouring encomiums on eminent chartered arbitrator, Prof. Paul Obo Idornigie SAN as he attained 75 years last Tuesday.

Idornigie is a Chartered Secretary, Chartered Arbitrator and current member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, Netherlands. He was an Acting Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS).

An online post seen by CITY LAWYER opened the floodgate of birthday wishes, as many practitioners lauded the stellar career of the go-to arbitrator.

The message reads: “Happy 75th Birthday to Professor Paul Obo Idornigie, SAN — Chairman, Board of Trustees, NLS Class of 1993, a scholar of distinction, a mentor of rare depth, and a pillar of wisdom in the legal community.

“I have never made a birthday shout‑out for you before, and I decided that on this remarkable milestone of 75 years, I would not let the moment pass.

“This is a special honor for a special leader; And because you deserve something crafted with intention, I even made a custom birthday music piece just for you — tailored to your spirit and your journey. Seventy-five (years) deserves its own sound track!”

Celebrating the legal scholar’s significant milestones, the Chair of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Ciarb) Nigeria Branch, Mrs. Sola Adegbonmire, wrote: “We join this group and all those who love you all over the world to wish you happy 75th birthday in great health and sound mind! We wish you many more years of impacting our generation still in sound health and a great mind in Jesus Name. Amen!”

Respected senior lawyer, Mrs. Miannaya Essien SAN joined her voice to the outpouring of encomiums when she wrote cryptically, “A very happy birthday to a perfect gentleman.”

Aside from Mrs. Funke Agbor SAN who also prayed for “More grace and blessings in this special year,” Mrs. Roseline Nwosu, Chair of the Abuja Chapter of Ciarb Nigeria, wrote: “Happy birthday Silky Prof, our Mentor and Teacher. We wish you many more fruitful years in service of God and humanity.

“Most of us have benefited immensely from your wealth of knowledge and experience and we pray for many more years in good health of mind and body. Congratulations Prof!”

A Co-Vice Chair of Ciarb Nigeria, Idornigie holds a doctorate degree in International Commercial Arbitration. He is a member of the London Court of Arbitration, a Professor of Law at Veritas University, Bwari, Abuja, and a member of several professional bodies.

As a General Counsel at the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) he was involved in the negotiation and drafting of several commercial instruments on behalf of public entities. As a Chartered Arbitrator, he is listed as an Arbitrator in the Arbitration Review Tool (ART) of the Global Arbitration Review (GAR).

He has handled several commercial arbitration and investment treaty arbitration as a Counsel or Arbitrator. He has done significant work in the oil and gas sector, power sector, construction, maritime, mines and minerals, real estate development, hospitality, and ports, among others.

More specifically, out of the five (5) Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) executed with International Oil Companies (IOCs) in 1993 that resulted in arbitration, he was involved in two of them as a Party-Appointed Arbitrator. Similarly, he was a Counsel in the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) arbitration involving the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN) and Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited (SNUD) – the OPL 245 – or Malabu Dispute.

(C) CITY LAWYER Magazine. All rights reserved. To join our Channel, click here. Click here to join our WhatsApp chatroom. Contact us at citylawyermag@gmail.com or 081-3838-0083.