Meet Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau: The New NBA President

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and distinguished Abusite, Mr. Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau, has emerged as the 36th President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau emerged during NBA elections held from 12.00.a.m. on Saturday to 11.59 p.m. of the same day.

He polled a total of 22,342 votes to defeat two other contenders, Messrs Joe-Kyari Gadzama (SAN), Chairman of the NBA Securities Agencies Relations Committee; and Jonathan Taidi, a former General Secretary of the NBA.

Who is Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau, SAN?

Mr. Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau, SAN, FCIArb. (UK) obtained his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) Degree in 1989 from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and was called to the Bar on 12th December 1990.

After his mandatory National Youth Service Corps program in 1991, Y. C. Maikyau joined the law firm of Messrs. Danladi Bamaiyi and Company at Sokoto, where he worked for 13 years and rose through the ranks to become the Head of Chambers. In 2003, he founded his law firm, Y. C. Maikyau & Co. with offices in Abuja and Sokoto.

He was appointed Notary Public in 2002 by the Chief Justice of Nigeria and was conferred with the prestigious rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria on 26th August 2011. In June, 2014 he obtained a Diploma in International Commercial Arbitration from the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London, United Kingdom.

He was admitted as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, (CIArb.) in September, 2014. On the 30th of November, 2021, he was inducted as a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (ICMC) Nigeria.

As an advocate, Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau has handled several notable cases that have had an impact on the Nigerian legal landscape. One of such cases was Re: Abdullahi, (2018) 14 NWLR (Part 1639) 272, where Mr. Maikyau convinced the Supreme Court of Nigeria to make a novel decision, allowing the substitution of a deceased defendant in a criminal case with the administrators of his estate for the purpose of preserving the civil rights of the estate.

Mr. Y. C. Maikyau also captured national consciousness as counsel in the Human Rights Violation Investigation Commission of Nigeria – The Oputa Panel – set up by President Olusegun Obasanjo, following the return of Nigeria to Democracy in 1999.

Beyond litigation, he has advised on some project finance and facility disbursement and has served on arbitral tribunals as sole arbitrator, co-arbitrator, presiding arbitrator, and counsel.

He was appointed by the Federal Government of Nigeria to serve as a member of the Panel of Conciliators of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) from July 2016 until July 2022.

He is a member of the Governing Council of Kebbi State University of Science and Technology, Aliero, Kebbi State; a member of the Court of Appeal Rules Committee, and served as the Chairman of the 2020 Conference Planning Committee of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb).

Mr. Maikyau is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the International Bar Association (IBA). As a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, he has 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 Profession culminating in the Legal Profession Regulation Bill.

He is the pioneer and current Chairman of the NBA Welfare Committee, the Chairman of the Committee of Law and Individual Rights of the Section on Legal Practice. He had served as a member of the Welfare Committee set up by Mr. Paul Usoro, SAN, as NBA President to alleviate the hardship caused to NBA members, particularly young members following the COVID-19 outbreak.

Outside the field of law, Mr. Maikyau is a graduate of Rhema Bible Training Centre, Nigeria, where he was awarded a Diploma in Ministerial Training, with an emphasis on Societal Leadership.

He is a community development and welfare enthusiast, who has been responsible for several free medical outreaches touching the lives of hundreds in his home state, Kebbi State. He is the patron of Purpose Global Academy in D’lanko, Kebbi state, which school has become his pet project.

Y. C. Maikyau, SAN is happily married to Zainab Maikyau and the marriage is blessed with four (4) children