Speaker details

Biography

Babatunde Irukera is a respected legal and regulatory expert of over 35 years with experience spanning commercial/civil litigation, criminal defence and prosecution, international legal practice, institutional reform, market regulation, and public interest litigation in Nigeria and internationally. He has a rare blend of legal acumen, policy insight, and strategic leadership gained over decades of service and transformation across both public and the private sector, as well as internationally. He is the immediate past Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), where he led the transformation of Nigeria’s consumer protection landscape and pioneered the country’s first comprehensive competition law regulatory regime. Under his leadership, the FCCPC became a model for regulatory innovation, accountability, and market fairness. Currently, he is the Chairman of Veritas Kapital Assurance PLC. Babatunde has advised and represented the Federal and State Governments, regulatory agencies, and international organizations in complex, high-impact matters including major aviation accident claims, and multi-jurisdictional consumer and competition cases. He has also been instrumental in shaping national legislation and regulatory frameworks in other countries in consumer protection, aviation, digital trade, and competition law. A former Managing Partner at Simmons Cooper Partners, and currently Of Counsel, his work spans competition/commercial law, securities litigation, corporate governance, government relations and stakeholder engagement. He is also actively engaged in Africa-wide regulatory development, advising regional bodies such as ECOWAS, COMESA, and AFCFTA on key aspects of competition regulation. Admitted to the Bar in Nigeria and in the United States, in 1990, and 1996 respectively, he has held different leadership positions in both the Nigerian and American Bar Associations. His contributions to law and regulatory reform have earned him several recognitions, including citations in Who’s Who Legal, a publication profiling leading lawyers in the United States, The American Lawyer and may other reputed legal practice or professional publications.