Commercial disputes, decided on the strength of the work.
Niger & Nile advises and represents banks, fintechs and businesses in commercial litigation, debt recovery, insolvency and enforcement, with corporate, company secretarial and regulatory support behind it. Our private client practice covers family law and estate planning.
Jurisdictions served Lagos · Ogun · Oyo · Abuja
Trusted by
Banks, fintechs and businesses we act for.
Practice
Most of our work sits where money, contracts and companies meet the courts. We take a matter from the first demand letter through judgment and into enforcement, and we advise on the corporate side so fewer disputes start.
Contract, shareholder and corporate disputes, from pre-action strategy through trial, appeal and settlement.
ForumsFederal High Court, State and FCT High Courts, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court
Recovery of non-performing facilities for banks and lenders, and enforcement of judgments once they are won.
Key lawCompanies and Allied Matters Act 2020; Sheriffs and Civil Process Act; AMCON Act; BOFIA 2020
Creditor and company-side advice on distressed businesses, led by a CAC-accredited Insolvency Practitioner who has served as the court-appointed administrator of a Nigerian airline.
Key lawCompanies and Allied Matters Act 2020
Company registration for Nigerian founders and foreign investors, the pre- and post-incorporation filings around it, and day-to-day secretariat support once the company is running. The firm is accredited by the Corporate Affairs Commission to carry out registrations.
AccreditationAccredited by the Corporate Affairs Commission to carry out registrations
Advice for lenders, fintechs and operating companies on licensing, consumer-protection exposure and regulator engagement.
RegulatorsCBN, FCCPC, SEC, NDPC
Private client
The same care we bring to commercial work, applied to the matters closest to home: the end of a marriage, the welfare of children, and the passing of wealth from one generation to the next.
Divorce and other matrimonial causes, children and financial arrangements, handled with discretion.
Key lawMatrimonial Causes Act; Child's Rights Act and State Child's Rights Laws
Wills and succession planning while you can shape it, and the administration and management of estate assets when the time comes.
Key lawState Wills Laws; Administration of Estates Laws; Probate Rules
Also
Property, tenancy, employment and general civil claims before the courts of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo and Abuja.
Also
Cross-border commercial and family disputes, including parallel proceedings in Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
How we work
We review the documents, the debtor or counterparty, and what is realistically recoverable before any money is spent.
Demand letters, preservation orders and injunctions where assets may move.
Focused pleadings and the fastest available procedure for the claim.
Garnishee, attachment and execution, so judgment turns into payment.
Insights
Short guides on the questions our clients ask most. All insights
Company Registration
Nigeria welcomes foreign investment, but a foreign business must set up a Nigerian company before it can trade here. This guide covers ownership limits, share capital, CAC registration and the approvals that follow.
Debt Recovery & Enforcement
A judgment is only worth what you can recover. Garnishee proceedings let a judgment creditor reach money a third party, usually a bank, owes the debtor. Here is how the process works, and what banks served with an order should do.
Insolvency & Restructuring
CAMA 2020 introduced administration as a rescue procedure for Nigerian companies. For creditors, it changes the rules overnight: enforcement stops, and recovery runs through the administrator. Here is what to do.
Key Contacts
For new matters and instructions, contact the Managing Partner.
Managing Partner
Ehimen Okpokam Oriaifo is the Managing Partner of Niger & Nile Legal Practitioners. He leads the firm's commercial practice, advising and representing banks, financial institutions and businesses in commercial disputes, debt recovery, insolvency and enforcement, and advising on corporate, company secretarial and regulatory matters.
He is an Insolvency Practitioner accredited by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). He holds a First Class LL.B. from Girne American University, Cyprus, and is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association and the Business Recovery and Insolvency Practitioners Association of Nigeria (BRIPAN). Previously, he was a Senior Associate at Kunle Ogunba & Associates (Insolvency Forte LP), where he built his practice in insolvency, receivership and creditor-side litigation.
He served as the court-appointed Administrator of Dana Airlines Limited, overseeing the administration of a distressed Nigerian airline. That experience gives him a view of insolvency from inside the business as well as from the courtroom.
Ehimen leads the firm's commercial and corporate dispute resolution work before the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the Federal High Court and the High Courts of Lagos, Ogun and Oyo States and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. He also advises on cross-border matters between Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
Contact
Send us a short summary and we will be in touch. Please don't send confidential documents until we have confirmed there is no conflict of interest.
Office
3rd Floor, 23 Hughes AvenueTelephone