Barr. Louis Mbanefo SAN was born in Onitsha, Anambra State of Nigeria on 23rd September 1944, and studied law at Queens’ College, Cambridge University – B.A. Hons 1967; LL.M
1968; M.A. 1970. He was called to the English Bar (Middle Temple) in November 1968, and served pupillages in Essex Court and other Chambers in the Middle Temple. The young Louis Mbanefo joined the British Civil Service and served from
1970-1972 as Legal Assistant to H.M. Treasury Solicitor, Whitehall, London.
Mbanefo was called to the Nigerian Bar in June 1973, whereupon he set up the law partnership Mbanefo & Mbanefo in 1974 with his cousin Patrick Mbanefo (deceased). Since 1984 he has run the law firm Louis Mbanefo & Co., in Lagos.
He has appeared as counsel in many of the leading Nigerian shipping and commercial cases which have set major judicial precedents in Nigerian maritime law. In recognition of his significant contributions to the development of law, he was appointed a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in May 1988.
A founder member of the Nigerian Maritime Law Association, he was successively the Hon.
Secretary, Vice-President and the President
(2010-2016). He is currently a Patron of the Association.
He is a past Chairman of the Board of directors of the Nigerian National Shipping Line. He was appointed Chairman of a Ministerial Committee set up to review and update the Nigerian Shipping Laws by the Minister of Transport and was responsible for the preparation of the Admiralty Jurisdiction Act 1991 and Admiralty Jurisdiction Procedure Rules 1993 as well as the Merchant Shipping Act 2007 for the Nigerian Government.
He is the Author of the Nigerian Shipping laws and Shipping Practice and procedure. He also authored the sixteen volumes of Nigerian Shipping Cases, Nigeria’s pioneer law maritime reports used by judges, practitioners and students. These reports for many maritime lawyers, are the foundation of their training, and continue to serve as a key reference material for adiudication of maritime disputes in Nigeria and beyond.
In year 2000, he was appointed by the Minister of Transport Chairman of a Task Force which successfully achieved the admission of Nigeria into the “White List” of the IMO.
Together with Professor Francesco Berlingieri, Dr. Thomas Mensah and Professor David Attard, he was appointed by Secretary General Srivastava of the International Maritime Organisation as a visiting Professor tasked with the preparation of the Modules for the then proposed International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI) in Malta in 1988. He has been a visiting Fellow of the Institute since its inception in 1989 and is currently a member of its Governing Council.
He was elected a member of the Executive Council of the Committee of Maritime International, the global body for the unification and promotion of international maritime law in October 2008, and served a term of six years. He was the first African to be appointed and was Chairman of the Standing Committee on the Implementation of International Conventions.
Outside the law, he is the current Chairman of the Boards of Trustees of both the Musical Society of Nigeria and St. Saviour’s Schools in Lagos and is a Patron of the Sickle Cell Foundation of Nigeria.
He is married to Monica Mbanefo who served as a Director of the IMO from 1991 until her retirement in 2010.
Ladies & Gentlemen, permit me to invite our Distinguished Barr. Louis Nnamdi Mbanefo, SAN to receive the Hallmarks of Labour-Life-Time Achievement Award for Exemplary/Courageous Service to the Advancement of our Legal System.
Hearty Congratulations, Sir.