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Onyekachi Umah, FCIArb (UK), is an International Dispute Resolution Expert with extensive experience in commercial law, international trade, energy law, technology law, intellectual property, labour law and inclusivity, gender and human rights.

As Executive Director of SabiLaw Academy, he provides strategic direction and leadership, and builds the Academy’s partnerships with institutions across Nigeria and Africa. He also teaches arbitration and ADR at the Faculty of Law, Nasarawa State University, and teaches arbitration, commercial law and energy law at SabiLaw Academy, where he trains lawyers, in-house counsel, aspiring arbitrators and other professionals on both the theory and practice of these fields.

Onyekachi is the Founding Partner at SabiLaw Firm, a technology and commercial law firm. He also leads SabiLaw Group, Africa’s leading legal services, information and technology ecosystem, specialising in Law, ADR, Tech, Energy, Training and Real Estate. He has authored over 800 legal publications and has trained thousands of lawyers, students, businesses and public institutions on emerging legal and regulatory issues.

Onyekachi holds a Master of Laws (LL.M) in Commercial Arbitration and is a doctoral researcher focusing on the enforcement of commercial arbitral awards. His academic formation is complemented by specialist training in contract law, negotiation and conflict management, obtained through programmes at Harvard University, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), Geneva, and the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), Washington, DC. This blend of academic depth and applied training informs his pragmatic, commercially grounded approach to dispute resolution.

In practice, Onyekachi has acted as Counsel, Tribunal Secretary, Co-Arbitrator and Expert Determination Counsel in a wide range of local and international disputes, many involving public sector entities, cross-border projects and capital-intensive industries. His experience spans infrastructure, construction, energy and power, engineering, transport and logistics, finance, real estate and technology, often involving complex contractual frameworks and high-value claims. His continuing work in arbitration and ADR reflects a particular interest in how emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and digital dispute resolution platforms, can improve the efficiency, accessibility, integrity and competitiveness of arbitration in Nigeria and internationally.