Biography
Professor Gbolahan Elias SAN is a partner at G Elias. He read law at Magdalen and Merton Colleges, Oxford University, obtaining BA and BCL degrees (both with First Class Honours), an MA and a D.Phil.
Gbolahan Elias was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1981 and the New York Bar in 1990. He has been a Senior Advocate of Nigeria since 2005. He has authored several papers on arbitration, mergers and acquisitions and other matters. He has served as Chairman of the Lagos State Law Reform Commission, Visiting Professor at Babcock University and Chancellor of Lagos State University.
He has advised on seminal mergers and acquisitions, large and complex foreign currency financings, transformative long-term commercial arrangements, pioneering infrastructure projects and impactful law reform efforts across industries including financial services, energy, telecommunications, consumer products and transport.
Gbolahan Elias was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1981 and the New York Bar in 1990. He has been a Senior Advocate of Nigeria since 2005. He has authored several papers on arbitration, mergers and acquisitions and other matters. He has served as Chairman of the Lagos State Law Reform Commission, Visiting Professor at Babcock University and Chancellor of Lagos State University.
He has advised on seminal mergers and acquisitions, large and complex foreign currency financings, transformative long-term commercial arrangements, pioneering infrastructure projects and impactful law reform efforts across industries including financial services, energy, telecommunications, consumer products and transport.
Recent matter / case highlights
- Advised on a NGN 3 trillion bond offering by AMCON, the largest-ever SEC-registered Naira bond.
- Acted in Zhongfu’s investment treaty arbitration against the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the first such arbitration brought by a Chinese investor.
- Acted in Sunrise Transmission’s ICC arbitration against the Federal Government of Nigeria.
- Acted in Shell Petroleum Maastapishe FIBR Court of Appeal litigation concerning the oil company’s global group-wide cost-sharing arrangement.
Sector expertise
- Agriculture
- Aviation
- Banking
- Consumer Goods and Services
- Energy
- Financial Services
- Food and Beverage
- Healthcare
- Insurance
- Mining
- Natural Resources
- Oil and Gas
- Real Estate
- Shipping
- Technology and Telecommunications
Education / Alumni
- Bachelor of Arts (Law), Oxford University, 1980
- Bachelor of Civil Laws, Oxford University, 1983
- Master of Arts, Oxford University, 1987
- Doctor of Philosophy (Law), Oxford University, 1989
- Visiting Professor of Commercial Law, Babcock University, 2011
- Chancellor, Lagos State University, 2020
Association/network memberships
- Nigeria-Netherlands Chamber of Commerce, 2004
- Senior Advocate of Nigeria, 2005
- Chartered Institute of Taxation, 2011
- Lagos Court of Arbitration, 2012
- International Association of Defence Counsel, 2016
- Business Recovery & Insolvency Practitioners Association of Nigeria, 2020
Bar Admissions
- Nigerian Bar Association, 1981
- New York State Bar, 1990
- New York Federal Bar, 1991
Address:
Tel:+2348034023878
Email:Contact this practitioner
Website:https://www.gelias.com/
6 Broad Street, Lagos, Lagos, 1000001
Nigeria
