Biography

PROFILE OF YAKUBU CHONOKO MAIKYAU, OON, SAN

Mr. Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau is the founder and Principal Partner of Y. C. Maikyau & Co., a law firm established in 2003, with offices in Abuja, Sokoto and Birnin-Kebbi.  Prior to setting up his own practice, Maikyau worked in the law firm of Danladi Bamaiyi and Co., from 1991 and rose to the position of Head of Chambers until 2003 when he voluntarily resigned. A seasoned dispute resolution expert: he is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, United Kingdom (FCIArb) and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (FICMC). He is currently on the Panel of Arbitrators of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague representing Nigeria.

As an advocate, Y. C. Maikyau has handled several notable cases which have had impact on the Nigerian jurisprudence. One of such was the case of Re: Abdullahi, (2018) 14 NWLR (Part 1639) 272, where he convinced the Supreme Court of Nigeria to reach a novel decision, allowing the substitution of a deceased appellant in a criminal appeal with the administrators of his estate for the purpose of preserving the civil rights in his estate. Mr. Maikyau had previously captured national attention when he appeared as counsel in the Human Rights Violation Investigation Commission (HRVIC) – The Oputa Panel – set up by President Olusegun Obasanjo, following the Nigeria’s return to Democracy in 1999. Beyond litigation, he has advised on some project finance and facility disbursement matters and has been involved in arbitration disputes as sole arbitrator, co-arbitrator, presiding arbitrator and counsel.

Mr. Maikyau is an active member of the legal community in Nigeria. He served as the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), from August 2022 to August 2024. Prior to this, he had served the Bar in many capacities: he was a Member of the NBA Legal Profession Regulation Review Committee (LPRRC) which made far-reaching recommendations for the reform of the legal profession in Nigeria culminating in the Legal Profession Regulation Bill; Chairman, NBA Disciplinary Committee (North) from 2012 to 2014; Chairman, Law and Individual Rights Committee of the Section on Legal Practice from 2019 to 2021; He served as a member of the ad hoc Welfare Committee set up during the COVID-19 pandemic to alleviate the hardship occasioned on members of the Bar in Nigeria; and later served as pioneer Chairman of NBA Welfare Committee from 2020 to 2022. He has been a member of the NBA National Executive Council (NEC) from 2018 to date.

Mr Maikyau is a member of the Rules Committee of the Supreme Court Rules and has similarly been a Member of the Court of Appeal Rules Committee from 2020 to date. He is also a member of the following regulatory bodies in the legal profession in Nigeria:

• National Judicial Council (NJC) – responsible, amongst other things, for the appointment, promotion and discipline of Judicial Officers;

• Council of Legal Education (CLE) – the regulatory body for legal education in Nigeria;

• Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC) – the body that confers on deserving members the privilege of the prestigious rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

• Body of Benchers (BOB) – a body of legal practitioners of the highest distinction in Nigeria, with the primary responsibility of admitting qualified and eligible persons into the Nigerian Bar;

He is a member International Bar Association (IBA) and the Commonwealth Lawyers Association and sat on the Council of the IBA in his capacity as President of the NBA from 2022 to 2024.

He was a Member of the Panel of Conciliators of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), from 2016 to 2022; a member, Kebbi State University of Science and Technology Governing Council, from 2015 to 2019; and served as Chairman of the 2020 Conference Planning Committee of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), Nigeria Branch.

Mr Maikyau obtained a Diploma in International Commercial Arbitration, from the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, United Kingdom in 2014. He attended a training on the Law of Data Security and Investigations at the SANS Institute (ESCAL Institute of Advanced Technology) Bethesda, United States of America, in 2016. He is a graduate of Rhema Bible Training Centre, Nigeria, where he obtained a Diploma in Ministerial Training, with emphasis on Societal Leadership.

Maikyau is a community development and social welfare enthusiast; the patron of Purpose Global Academy in D’lanko Village, Danko Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State – a complete tuition-free school established about 2 decades ago as his pet project. He is responsible for several free medical outreaches in his home state, Kebbi State, which has benefitted thousands of persons in Kebbi, the neighboring, Sokoto, Zamfara, Niger, Kwara and Katsina States, including persons from neighboring Benin and Niger Republics, in recognition of which he was, in October 2022, awarded the national honour of Officer the Order of the Niger (OON)

Y.C. Maikyau is happily married to Zainab Maikyau, and the marriage is blessed with Four (4) great children – Israel Danmanya, Princess Sarah, King David, and Queen Esther.