OBA OLUFON & CO.

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Labour & employment.

Advising employers and employees on workplace rights, compliance and dispute resolution — including contentious matters before the National Industrial Court.

Why this matters

The NICN reads the process before it reads the dismissal.

Most wrongful termination awards in Nigeria do not turn on the substantive ground. They turn on the process — a missed query, an undocumented hearing, a panel that was never properly constituted. The firm runs employment matters with the eventual NICN file in mind from the first conversation.

— Employment bench

Services

What the firm covers in this practice.

Mandates scope to a single matter (dismissal, exit, dispute), an ongoing HR-counsel retainer, or representation in NICN proceedings.

Phase 01

Advisory & compliance

  • Employment contracts

    Drafting and review across executive, senior and unionised roles.

  • Policy & handbook

    Disciplinary, grievance, redundancy and DEI policies drafted to survive review.

  • Regulatory compliance

    Labour Act, Pension Reform Act, NSITF, ITF and sector codes.

  • HR-counsel retainer

    Ongoing first-line advice on day-to-day workplace questions.

Phase 02

Exits & disputes

  • Disciplinary process

    Investigation, query, hearing and panel constitution that hold up at NICN.

  • Wrongful termination claims

    Defence and prosecution at the National Industrial Court.

  • Workplace investigations

    Independent investigations into misconduct, harassment and whistleblowing.

  • Exit packages & negotiated separations

    Settlement deeds that close the file cleanly.

Phase 03

Litigation & enforcement

  • NICN representation

    Originating processes, defences and appeals.

  • Trade-union disputes

    Collective bargaining, recognition and industrial-action defence.

  • Enforcement of awards

    Where NICN awards have not been satisfied voluntarily.

  • Appellate work

    Court of Appeal and Supreme Court on NICN judgments.

Approach

How a labour & employment brief moves through the firm.

Four steps. Click any one to see the artifacts produced.

Step 01 · Artifacts

Triage

  • Fact pattern memo
  • Document index
  • Risk assessment
  • Engagement letter

Step 02 · Artifacts

Process repair / pre-action

  • Investigation report
  • Query & response pack
  • Panel record
  • Settlement deed (if applicable)

Step 03 · Artifacts

NICN proceedings

  • Originating process or statement of defence
  • Witness statements on oath
  • Trial bundle
  • Final written address

Step 04 · Artifacts

Award & appeal

  • Award analysis
  • Notice of appeal (if applicable)
  • Enforcement plan
  • Audit pack

Who we represent

Clients the firm acts for in this practice.

A representative — not exhaustive — list of the clients the firm accepts mandates from under labour & employment.

Employers (corporate) Multinationals & foreign-invested entities Boards on senior-executive exits Senior executives & C-suite In-house HR & legal teams Trade unions Foreign workers in Nigeria Pension fund administrators
Nigerian employees at workstations in a modern open-plan office in Lagos.
Corporate employers and multinational operators in Nigeria form the spine of the firm’s labour and employment practice.

What success looks like

The outcomes the firm aims for.

01

Dismissals that survive NICN review

Process repaired or rebuilt so the panel record holds at trial.

02

Exit packages that close the file

Settlement deeds with mutual releases that do not unwind.

03

NICN defences that win on the documents

Trial bundle and witness statements organised around the realistic claim.

04

Awards enforced or appealed cleanly

Strategy decided on the law and the bench, not on default.

Bench on this matter

Partner-led from intake.

The named partners on an employment file are the partners who run it. Associates assist; they do not replace.

Oba Olufon, SAN

Senior partner · NICN litigation

Leads employment litigation including senior-executive exits, mass redundancies and trade-union disputes.

Partner, employment

Partner · advisory & process

Disciplinary process, HR-counsel retainer work and workplace investigations.

Engage the firm

Brief us on an employment matter.

Initial consultations are confidential. You’ll leave with a clear view of the process position, the realistic NICN exposure, and the route to closure.

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