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Opeyemi Owolabi

Opeyemi Owolabi

Opeyemi.Owolabi@strenandblan.com

Opeyemi Michael Owolabi is a Nigerian litigation and dispute resolution expert with interest in diverse areas of law, including commercial law, copyright, criminal law, pre and post elections, property, human rights, debt recovery, sports, regulatory and constitutional matters, in respect of which he has represented clients in all Courts of Records in Nigeria.

He attended the Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, where he graduated with a Second Class (Upper Division) Degree between November, 2008 and February 2014. He attended the Nigerian Law School and was called to the Nigerian Bar in October, 2015.

As a legal practitioner, Opeyemi has actively participated as a member of the team that defended the election and return of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a sitting Governor and the members of the National Assembly from a state in the South-Southern part of Nigeria. Also, he was lead counsel at disputes where he defended some A-list Afrobeat Artistes for defamation, and breach of copyright. In 2018, he succeeded in successfully prosecuting, in Court, the recovery of the Sum of 500 Million Naira for unauthorized communication, broadcast and performance of musical works in the catalogue of his client, the Copyright Society of Nigeria (CSON), arguably the biggest collecting society in Nigeria. He has also rendered legal advice to several domestic and international corporate companies.

As a human rights lawyer who holds government accountable through the national and international legal frameworks, he has filed and prosecuted several public impact suits in Court. In 2021, he appeared for the Socio-Economic Accountability Rights Project (SERAp), a leading human rights, legal advocacy and non-partisan organization in Nigeria, where he challenged unlawful suspension of Twitter operations in Nigeria at the ECOWAS Court of Justice, and the Court issued an interim order restraining the Attorney-General of Nigeria from arresting and prosecuting anyone one who used Twitter pending the determination of the suit. The Court eventually declared, among others, the act of the Federal Government as incompatible with right to freedom of expression and ordered the reinstatement of Twitter operations in Nigeria. He also represented the Amnesty International (AI) at the ECOWAS court of Justice, where presented the amicus curiae brief on Behalf of AI on rights to life and peaceful assembly regarding the shooting of #Endsars protesters. His human rights legal advocacy has seen him file several other suits on enforcement of the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2011, protection of rights of voters, and challenge the controversial provisions of Chapter 6 of the CAMA 2020. He has prepared several Memos reviewing several domestic laws and legal opinions. He has also prepared complaints on abuse of human rights to the United Nations Working Group on Freedom of Expression, the ECOWAS Committee on Legal Affairs and the Human Rights, and the African Commission on Human Rights.

Opeyemi holds certificates in Privacy Law and Data Protection from the University of Pennsylvania (Coursera), Project Management and Monitoring and Evaluation from Ernst and Young. He also holds certificates in Effective Compliance Programs, and Theory and Practice of International Humanitarian Law from the University of Leiden.

He is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the NBA Section on Public Interest and Development Law (SPIDEL).

 

He has passion for public speaking, sports and travel.

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