Festus Onyia

Festus Onyia is a Partner in the firm’s dispute resolution practice, focusing on Arbitration and Mediation. He specialises in civil, corporate and commercial litigation, as well as international commercial arbitration.

His other practice areas include labour, employment and industrial relations, and tax litigation. He has trained as an international commercial arbitrator with several Nigerian and international arbitration institutions, including the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris, where he attended the Advanced PIDA Training in International Commercial Arbitration.

Festus has acted as counsel in both ad hoc and institutional arbitrations, including under the Rules of Arbitration of the ICC, and has advised on issues of Nigerian law for determination in matters before foreign courts and arbitration tribunals. He recently represented a client at the Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in a claim for compensation and damages in excess of $700 million for alleged oil spillage and gas flaring.

He has also represented several international drilling companies in tax disputes at the Tax Appeal Tribunal, Federal High Court and Court of Appeal, in respect of a dispute arising from additional tax assessments of approximately $40 million and involving the issue of whether recharges to Nigerian support companies and/or subsidiaries are allowable deductions from turnover for the purposes of computation of tax under the Companies Income Tax Act.

Festus is recognised by Legal 500 for his experience with high-value commercial arbitrations. He was a member of the International Task Force appointed by the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR on the Revision of the ICC Rules as Appointing Authority in UNCITRAL and other Ad Hoc Proceedings, is a member of the Editorial Board of the Nigerian Tax Law Report, and was appointed Alternate Chairman of the Energy and Power Committee of the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators in April 2019.

He is a thought leader in his core practice areas, with articles published in journals including The European, Middle Eastern and African Arbitration Review, the International Financial Law Review Dispute Resolution Guide, the Chambers International Arbitration Country Practice Guide, Dealmakers Africa and the Nigerian Tax Law Review.