Speaker details

Biography

Chief Joe-Kyari Gadzama, SAN, fondly known as ‘J-K’, was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1986 and enrolled at the Supreme Court in the same year. A graduate of the University of Maiduguri, where he was the best student in the Common Law Department, he earned a Second Class Upper Division degree in Law. He later obtained a Diploma in International Commercial Arbitration from Keble College, Oxford (2006), completed training at the Institute for Public-Private Partnerships in the USA (2009), and undertook a short course in regulation at the London School of Economics (2010). He is currently pursuing a postgraduate degree in Energy and Natural Resources Law at Nile University, Abuja. Appointed a Notary Public in 1996 and elevated to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 1998, J-K has built a distinguished career spanning over three decades. He has served as external solicitor to several commercial and development banks, adviser to multinational corporations, and lead counsel to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and major political parties. He was a Legal Consultant to the Bureau of Public Enterprises and a partner in the Legal Advisory Partnership (LAP), providing services for Nigeria’s privatization programme. J-K is registered with the Securities & Exchange Commission as a Capital Market Consultant and was appointed Liquidator for the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). In 2019, he was also appointed Receiver by GTBank in a significant loan recovery case. His legal expertise has been sought internationally, including in litigation involving a major aircraft manufacturer in France. Renowned for his anti-corruption advocacy, he served as Chairman of the EFCC Legal Team and chaired the National Working Group on the Rome Statute. He was a Federal Commissioner/Board Member of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) and has held board positions with Diamond Pension Fund Custodian and the University of Benin Governing Council. A Chartered Arbitrator and Fellow of both the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK) and the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators, J-K is listed in Who’s Who Legal as an arbitration expert. He currently chairs the Board of Trustees of the Janada International Centre for Arbitration and Mediation (JICAM) and previously chaired the Abuja Chapter of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. J-K is a Life Bencher of the Nigerian Body of Benchers and a member of its Appointments Committee. In 2021, he was appointed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria to chair the Mentoring Committee for Young Lawyers. In recognition of his service, he has been honoured with two national awards: Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) in 2004 and Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) in 2014. A dedicated family man, he is blessed with six children and two grandchildren. In his leisure time, he enjoys reading, travelling, golfing, hiking, and swimming.