Son of the recently deceased doyen of Commercial Law practice in Nigeria, Chief Christopher Oladipo Ogunbanjo, Abimbola Ogunbanjo was among those who died in the helicopter crash which took the life of the Group Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings Plc, Herbert Wigwe, on Friday.
Aside from the former chairman of Nigeria Exchange Group (NGX ), Wigwe’s wife and son also died in the disaster which happened near the Nevada border in California, United States of America.
Ogunbanjo who certified in international capital markets and marine law, held the position of GCEO at the NGX group from 2021 to 2022.
He had his early education at Corona School Apapa; University of Lagos Staff School, Claremont School, Hastings, Sussex and Igbobi College, Lagos State; before he went to Millfield School, Street, Somerset, England where he attained his GCE O’ Levels.
Afterwards, he proceeded to the American College, in Switzerland to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.
Ogunbanjo also held a Bachelor’s degree in Law from the University of Buckingham, United Kingdom.
He had Certificates in international capital markets and Maritime Law from the New York Institute of Finance, and the University of Southampton respectively.
He provided pro-bono legal services to the Nigerian Chamber of Shipping and the Chris Ogunbanjo Foundation where he also served on its board of directors.
He also served as Managing Partner of the renowned, leading corporate law firm of Chris Ogunbanjo LP (Solicitors), a firm he joined in 1990 after a spell as a credit analyst with Chase Manhattan Bank (Nigeria) Limited.
He served on the boards of several multinational corporations and non-profit organisations, including Beta Glass Plc and the Advisory Board of the University of Buckingham Centre for Extractive Studies.
The ex-NGX chairman equally served on the Board of GTL Registrars Limited, AIICO Insurance Plc and ConocoPhillips Limited amongst others.
Abimbola Ogunbanjo was a Global Ambassador for the Cervical Cancer-Free Nigeria) campaign, an initiative of Global Oncology, a US-based nonprofit organisation supported by Stanford University.
The CCFN campaign aims to reduce the unnecessary deaths of Nigerian women from cervical cancer, by raising awareness about the safety, efficacy, and availability of the human papillomavirus vaccine among the Nigerian public.
The Elerunwon of Erunwon-Ijebu, Oba Johnson Okubena, conferred on Ogunbanjo the traditional title of Bamofin of Erunwon Ijebu Kingdom, on December 8, 2018.
On October 11, 2022, former President Muhammadu Buhari conferred the National Honour of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic on Ogunbanjo for his contributions to the development of the capital market, corporate law and in recognition of his virtues and appreciation of his services to Nigeria.
PUNCH
