Joseph Nwobike

Joseph Agburuwhuo Nwobike (born 23 June 1964) is a Nigerian lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) from Ikwere, Rivers state. He was conferred with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in 2009. In 2018, following his conviction for attempting to pervert the course of justice, the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee suspended him from using the SAN title. In 2011, he was vindicated by the supreme court in Nigeria, and his conviction nullified. He has also been involved in legislative advocacy, including spearheading efforts that led to the enactment of the Chartered Institute of Local Government and Public Administration of Nigeria Act, No. 1, 2017.

He was born in Rivers State, Nigeria. He studied law at the University of Lagos, where he obtained an LL.B with Second Class Upper Division, during which he also served as Secretary-General of the National Union of Rivers State Students and later of the University of Lagos Students’ Union in 1990/1991, and later earned an LL.M from the same institution. He also received a Ph.D. in Law from the University of Abuja.

He was called to the Nigerian Bar in December 1992 and became a notary public in 1999. In 2009, he was elevated to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria. He is the lead partner at Osborne Law Practice and is a member of several professional bodies, including the International Bar Association, Nigerian Bar Association, International Tax Planning Association, and INSOL International. In September 2023, he expressed support for constitutional reforms within the NBA, including changes to its governance structure and conference cost management, as part of his broader engagement with the legal profession. In the same news, he commented on the legality of appointing a serving member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) as a minister, stating that the appointment of Hannatu Musawa was lawful under Nigerian law. In addition, he has raised concerns about court administration, particularly the management of seized property stored at court premises in Lagos, urging authorities to establish better systems for preservation and disposal.

In April 2018, Nwobike was convicted by Lagos State High Court for attempting to pervert the course of justice. The conviction was based on findings that he had sent messages to court registrars and offered gratification to a judge. In December 2021, the Supreme Court of Nigeria unanimously overturned the conviction, ruling that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) lacked the authority to prosecute him for perversion of justice, and that the law under which he was charged did not clearly define the offence. In June, 2023 he built and donated a bar centre to Nigerian bar association, Rivers state branch.

• Nigerian Law Association
• Senior Advocates of Nigeria
• Lagos state high court
• EFCC