FJKO
The Partnership
We deliver commercially grounded legal advice with unshakeable ethics and deep insight.
"In a volatile market, precision in financial documentation is the ultimate hedge."
Zahraddeen Kwaccido is a partner and the lead of the firms energy, project, and infrastructure practice groups. He is a seasoned legal practitioner with over 15 years of post-call experience, specialising in legal advisory, regulatory compliance, and interface management in high-barrier sectors, including oil and gas, aviation, agribusiness and solid minerals. He combines in-depth regulatory knowledge with transactional and project expertise, enabling him to deliver integrated legal solutions for large-scale projects and multinational clients.
He has served within the national petroleum regulator and as a lead consultant to global energy firms, giving him a practical appreciation of both the regulator’s expectations and industry imperatives. He specialises in upstream and midstream advisory, field development programs, and asset integrity, and he is adept at aligning technical project requirements with Nigerian statutory and safety standards.
His practice covers corporate strategy and M&A, transactional law, project finance and logistics, and regulatory interface. He drafts and negotiates FEED contracts, joint venture agreements, and PPP documentation, oversees CAPEX and OPEX risk allocation, and manages legal aspects of maritime and vessel supply chains. He is experienced in structuring investor and governance arrangements for complex investments and in managing cross-border credit documentation.
Zahraddeen holds an LL.B (Hons) from the University of Abuja and a Barrister-at-Law qualification from the Nigerian Law School. He is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association and the Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria. His combined regulatory, transactional, and technical-legal experience positions him to bridge the gap between operations and legal risk for energy and infrastructure projects.
- Strategic advisory and practice leadership: Lead the Corporate and Commercial division, advising clients in oil and gas, power, and natural resources on transactional strategy, regulatory risk, and commercial structuring.
- Transactional leadership: Managed company formations, procurement of operational licences, joint venture and shareholder negotiations, and cross-border credit documentation for project sponsors and IOCs.
- Project oversight and technical-legal integration: Coordinated legal inputs to Field Development Programs and FEED processes to ensure contractual and regulatory alignment with technical specifications and safety requirements.
- Regulatory interface and compliance: Acted as primary liaison with NUPRC, NMDPRA, SEC, and other parastatals, securing permits and ensuring statutory compliance for large-scale projects.
- Energy and infrastructure project coordination: Directed legal and transactional phases of large tenders and field operations for IOCs and independents, including supply chain, vessel contracting, and asset integrity arrangements.
- Former regulator role: As licensing and permit specialists at the national regulator, reviewed technical submissions for statutory licences, contributed to policy drafting and coordinated inter-agency verification processes.