Lawyer Cum Politician

By Ruth Okwumbu

Profile The Story of Muhammad Dele Belgore SAN, a Successful Commercial Lawyer Cum Politician

Commercial & Applied Contract law in 1984. He then returned to attend the Nigerian Law School, and was called to the Bar as a Solicitor & Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 1985. He became a Notary Public in 1997, and would later become one of the few legal practitioners to attain the coveted title of Senior Advocate of Nigeria at the age of 40, when he was conferred with the rank in 2001.

Career

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is a trend that became quite the vibe in legal practice in recent times. Muhammad Dele Belgore is one of the most notable experts in this field of arbitration and mediation, and his story makes a quite interesting read any day.

Mohammed Dele Belgore was born on June 25, 1961, to Justice Belgore whom we now acknowledge to be the longest serving Chief Judge of the Federal High Court. He had his early education in Nigeria, attending Capital School, Kaduna and Offa Grammar School, before he moved to the United Kingdom. He finished from the Shoreham Grammar School in Sussex, England before proceeding to the University of Hull, England to bag his LLB (Hons) in 1983.

The next move was to the University of Bristol (England) where he obtained his (LLM) in The law career for Belgore started with a role as Legal Officer with the Nigerian Merchant Bank Limited from 1985 to 1986. He moved next to Chief Rotimi Williams’ Chambers, Lagos as Legal Counsel, and served from April 1986 to September 1989.

In May 1989, Muhammad Belgore together with his learned colleagues, co-founded the law firm Sofunde, Osakwe, Ogundipe & Belgore. For over three decades, the law firm has earned its reputation as one of Nigeria’s leading commercial law firms. As a partner with the Sofunde Osakwe Ogundipe & Belgore (Legal Practitioners), Belgore has demonstrated commendable skill in corporate advisory, corporate governance, strategic planning, commercial litigation and arbitration.

The firm now has an extensive network of correspondent associates, who make it possible for the firm to offer its services across the country. It has the added reputation of being about the only Nigerian law firm with its in-house investigation department, a sharp edge over others. Sofunde Osakwe Ogundipe & Belgore legal practitioners offer services in dispute resolution, corporate & commercial advisory, Money & Capital markets, Asset recovery, and other international works.

In legal service

Belgore assumed the position of 1st Vice Chairman of the Nigerian branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in 2006. He also served as the chairman of the subcommittee on Training & Development of the Nigeria branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, which conducted training programmes in Nigeria & Ghana.

He was a founding and executive council member of the Maritime Arbitrators Association of Nigeria, member of the Editorial Committee of the Newsletter of the Nigeria branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and faculty member of Euromoney Legal Training. Belgore is an Accredited Mediator with the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR).

As an active arbitrator, Belgore teaches and writes for journals and speaks at seminars on arbitration. He is also an approved tutor of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators for training programmes at all levels, including training for Fellowship status.

Muhammad Belgore is a member of the International Bar Association (IBA); Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb); London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA); International Chamber of Commerce (ICC); Maritime Arbitrators Association of Nigeria (MAAN); Nigeria Bar Association (NBA); Nigeria Insurance Law Association; Nigeria Maritime Law Association; and Institute of Directors (IOD).

Other interests

Belgore ventured into active partisan politics in 2011 on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).