SPOTLIGHT: Meet Nigerian lawyer whose firm has produced six SANs without being one

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Oghogho Akpata runs a law firm that has produced six Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) even though he is not one himself.

The SAN rank, a Nigerian equivalent of the King’s Counsel (KC) or Queen’s Counsel (QC) in the United Kingdom, is the most prestigious rank conferred on lawyers in Nigeria as a mark of distinction.

Officially the pinnacle of attainment in legal practice in the country, the rank is reserved for lawyers who are at least 10 years in the Nigerian bar and have distinguished themselves through exceptional advocacy or academic erudition with remarkable contributions to the development of the Nigerian law.

It grants recipients exclusive privileges in court, such as the right of first audience and the distinction of wearing silk gowns. Outside professional circles, the title commands authority.

Mr Akpata’s non-SAN status is intriguing for many people, particularly legal profession outsiders. It is hard to come to terms with in a society where titles are reverenced.

And it could not have been a question of non-qualification. Sitting at the top of the firm, he fosters the environment that enables lawyers, including those who matured professionally under his mentorship, to attain the rank of SAN in quick succession.

According to his profile on Templars’ website, Mr Akpata has more than 30 years of legal experience in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector. His work covers areas like major energy transactions, project financing and disputes involving multinational companies.

He founded Templars in Lagos in 1995 after working at F.O. Akinrele & Co., according to P.M. EXPRESS. The law firm began with four lawyers and has since grown its operations in Nigeria and Ghana. It now has 157 lawyers, including 28 partners, across the two countries.

The recent conferment of the SAN rank on 68 lawyers, including two from Templars, brought new attention on Mr Aghogho. Many have expressed admiration at what is regarded as his silent professional excellence and an unassuming public persona with scanty media coverage.

While the SAN rank remains an enviable height and an insignia of distinction in the legal profession, lawyers like Mr Akpata quietly show that excellence in the profession goes beyond the title awarded for success in a handful of criteria.

In the last eight years, the law firm has produced six SANs, starting with Adewale Atake in 2018. The rest are Godwin Omoaka, Inam Wilson, Olufemi Oyewole, Igonikon Adekunle and Sadiq Ilegieuno.

Mr Atake, the first on the list by year of elevation who became a SAN in 2018, began his legal career in his elder brother Eyimofe Atake’s chambers before joining Templars.

In an August 2026 interview with PUNCH, Mr Eyimofe recounted working with his younger brother on cases before the Supreme Court.

At Templars, Mr Atake developed a practice in commercial litigation, domestic and international arbitration, and investment disputes, particularly those involving the energy sector. He heads the firm’s Dispute Resolution practice and has represented international oil companies in major disputes with Nigerian government entities.

One notable case involved ExxonMobil and Shell in an arbitration over crude oil entitlements against the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The proceedings resulted in an award exceeding $2 billion in favour of the companies, according to Templars.

The Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC) selected Mr Atake for the rank in 2018. He was sworn in at the Supreme Court in Abuja in September that year.

Another Templars partner elevated to SAN is Mr Omoaka. He attained the rank in 2019. The LPPC selected him in July that year, and he was sworn in at the Supreme Court in Abuja in September.

Mr Omoaka studied law at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, graduating with a Bachelor of Law in 1997 and was called to the Nigerian Bar after from the Nigerian Law School in September 1999, according to The Nation.

He began his legal career at Muyiwa Obanewa & Co., where he worked from 1999 to 2000, before joining Sofunde, Osakwe, Ogundipe & Belgore as counsel from 2001 to 2002. He later joined TEMPLARS and became a partner in September 2009, according to the African Arbitration Association’s professional directory.

His practice focuses on commercial litigation, oil and gas disputes, arbitration, taxation and maritime law. He also heads TEMPLARS’ real estate practice and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in the United Kingdom.

Mr Wilson, is also TEMPLARS partner elevated to the SAN rank in November 2022.

His practice covers labour and employment law, shipping, aviation and commercial disputes. He heads TEMPLARS’ Labour and Employment and Transportation practices and also works on corporate investigations, white-collar matters and regulatory compliance.

Mr Oyewole attained the rank in September 2025, after 11 years of active legal practice, according to a statement he published on LinkedIn.

Mr Oyewole holds a Master of Law in International Commercial Law from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, Scotland. He was appointed a Notary Public of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2022.

His practice focuses on commercial litigation, arbitration, corporate investigations and anti-corruption compliance. Among his notable cases was advising JPMorgan Chase in legal proceedings brought by the Federal Republic of Nigeria over payments linked to the sale of Oil Prospecting Licence 245 (OPL 245) to Shell and Eni.

Ms Adekunle is one of the two latest additions to the row of TEMPLARS partners with SAN ranks. She was sworn as a SAN on 12 October, alongside another partner of the firm, Sadiq Ilegieuno.

Ms Adekunle is a commercial litigator and arbitration counsel whose practice focuses on tax disputes. She also handles cases involving the energy, construction, financial services and environmental sectors.

In one notable case, she represented Nigeria LNG Limited in a tax dispute with the Federal Inland Revenue Service over an assessment of about $231 million. The assessment was reduced to approximately $3.25 million while the appeal was pending, according to her profile on TEMPLARS’ website.

For Mr Ilegieuno, one of TEMPLARS pair elevated to the SAN rank on 12 October, he studied law at the University of Benin and obtained a Master of Law from the University of Lagos. He joined TEMPLARS in 2005 and became a partner in 2018.

His practice covers commercial litigation, arbitration, energy and environmental disputes, data protection and regulatory matters. He has represented multinational companies in cases before Nigerian courts and arbitral tribunals.

Mr Akpata praised the two for their elevation to the SAN rank.

“Igonikon and Sadiq have earned this through years of rigour and courage. Their elevation speaks to what a practice becomes when it invests patiently in its people, and we are immensely proud of them,” TEMPLARS’ website quoted him as saying.

Mr Akpata read law at the University of Benin. He is a cousin to former president of the Nigerian Bar Association Olumide Akpata, a senior partner at TEMPLARS until his resignation in 2023 to contest the Edo State governorship election.

His professional career spans commercial law, arbitration and Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

In interviews over the years, he has discussed the challenges facing the energy sector, the development of commercial arbitration and the firm’s approach to advising clients on major transactions.

In a 2015 interview published in the Sub-Saharan Africa Oil and Gas Handbook, Mr Akpata explained that TEMPLARS was established when Nigeria lacked sophisticated commercial legal services, particularly in the energy sector. The firm initially set out to build a leading oil and gas practice but later expanded into other sectors and became a full-service commercial law firm.

He discussed Nigeria’s prospects as a centre for commercial arbitration in an interview published by The Lawyer in June 2016. Mr Akpata said the Lagos Court of Arbitration had the potential to strengthen Nigeria’s position, but the country needed better security, stronger judicial support and improved hospitality infrastructure to compete with established centres such as London and Singapore.

He also observed that arbitration was becoming an increasingly common way to resolve commercial disputes as businesses recognised that arbitral awards could be enforced internationally. He identified oil and gas, energy, construction and power as sectors likely to generate significant arbitration work. At the time, TEMPLARS was seeking to develop a specialist practice in international arbitration and alternative dispute resolution.

In a July 2018 interview with The Energy Year, Mr Akpata examined changes in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, including the growing role of indigenous companies. He said local operators were becoming more sophisticated and gaining greater recognition in the industry. He also noted that the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act 2010 had helped increase Nigerian participation.

Mr Akpata identified regulatory uncertainty as a major risk for investors. Delays in renewing oil leases, he explained, could obstruct funding because investors lacked certainty about when approvals would be granted. He called for clearer rules and timelines. On gas development, he argued that Nigeria needed better incentives, infrastructure and commercially viable pricing to encourage investment and reduce its dependence on crude oil.

In an April 2022 interview with The Energy Year, Mr Akpata discussed the legal and financial structures behind major energy transactions. He highlighted TEMPLARS’ work on Heirs Holdings’ acquisition of a 45 per cent interest in Oil Mining Lease 17 and the associated $1.1 billion financing. He described the transaction as significant because of its financing structure and deferred purchase-price arrangement.

He also explained that TEMPLARS sought to advise clients from the conception of a project through to its completion, rather than limit its role to preparing legal documents. This approach involved understanding clients’ commercial objectives, identifying regulatory and financial risks, and structuring transactions to address them.

Mr Akpata also discussed the implications of the Petroleum Industry Act, which became law in August 2021.

He said the reforms had created demand for regulatory advice, restructuring of existing ventures and renegotiation of production-sharing contracts, while raising the prospect of disputes over existing contractual protections.

Mr Akpata’s profile on Templars’ website showcases accolades he has received regarding his legal practice, including The Chambers Globar Guide ranking him as a Senior Stateperson in Projects & Energy, a status said to be held by only two lawyers in Nigeria.

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