Chief Adeniyi Akintola SAN is principal partner, Niyi Akintola & Co, the fiery lawyer and a politician, who has journeyed all the way from a motor boy, a mechanic and a photographer’s apprentice, to make the list of Nigeria’s most brilliant lawyers and one of the most sought after for the most difficult election petition cases around.
He is acclaimed for his tenacity, uncompromising nature, fidelity to purpose and passion for justice in pursuit of his clients’ cases. These outstanding qualities have made his law firm one of the main destinations for political aspirants seeking to enforce their rights whether for pre- or post-poll matters.
He was consistently the arrow head of the progressives’ legal battles against the conservatives and reactionary forces in Nigeria’s fourth republic. He was a member of NADECO, an opposition group to the late Sanni Abacha’s military regime.
The man, who is a turnaround from following motor to leading the law, is part of President Bola Tinubu’s legal team at the 2023 presidential election petition tribunal comprising 38 Senior Advocates of Nigeria and other attorneys.
He served as one of the lead counsels of the Ondo State governor, Rotimi Akeredolu in the election petition case decided in his favour by the Supreme Court where his argument that a minority judgment has no value was upheld.
His profound legal opinion has helped to shape the constitutional position on the question of whether the appointment of a serving governor as party office holder offends the provisions of the law.
In the course of his career, Akintola has held key positions since he was called to the bar in 1986. He was a member, presidential committee on review of the 1999 constitution, member national executive committee of the Nigerian Bar Association, chairman, committee on public petitions & judiciary in Oyo State, deputy speaker, Oyo State house of assembly, among others.
He earned his law degree from the University of Ibadan in 1984 and also holds M. Sc. degree in political science. He was elevated to the revered club of Senior Advocates of Nigeria in 2001.
His law firm has, in 34 years, developed an enviable portfolio of clients and wide range experience at all levels of national and international legal services and transactions.
Apart from election petition and constitutional matters, the firm’s experience spans core litigation, commercial and financial transactions, real property and estate management, corporate legal services, capital market operations, privatization, merger and acquisitions, shipping and maritime arbitration, telecommunications and oil and gas.
In the nearly three and half decades of operations, the firm has handled countless briefs successfully running into more than multiples of 10, 000; including landmark cases that have contributed immensely to the development of Nigeria’s legal system, law reforms and the entire state of the polity.
These contributions are in pursuit of Akintola’s vision – to attain and sustain an enviable reputation as a front runner in excellent, client-focused, legal service delivery while contributing to the development of the law within and outside Nigeria through innovative legal solution and strategies.
His company’s successes in election petition and constitutional matters is in pursuit of its mission and commitment to supplying customized legal lee-way to satisfy its clients, without contravening the standard of fairness and justice.
The firm has at its command executive capacity and expertise in core litigation, electoral law and practices, constitutional law, capital market operations, financial transactions, international economic law, shipping and maritime, oil and gas, real estate, among others.
The firm operates from four state of the art offices in major cities in Nigeria and an associate office in the United Kingdom, manned by experts and seasoned lawyers in various areas of law and practice. It also has working and associate relationships with leading International law firms, particularly in the United Kingdom.
