Former chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Abimbola Ogunbanjo was among the victims of the helicopter crash that killed the group chief executive officer of Access Holdings Plc Herbert Wigwe on February 9.
The helicopter operated by Orbic Air LLC took off from Palm Springs Airport, California and was headed to Boulder City, Nevada.
It, however, crashed near the Nevada border.
The Eurocopter EC 130 aircraft was carrying six people onboard at the time of the incident.
Ogunbanjo was the group chairman of NGX Group, the non-operating holding company that emerged from the demutualisation of The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) from 2021 to 2022.
Born in Nigeria to the family of corporate lawyer and industrialist Chris Ogunbanjo and wife Hilda, Ogunbanjo continued in the family’s tradition by studying to become a lawyer.
Access Holdings CEO Herbert Wigwe dies in US helicopter crash
We lack specific information on Herbert Wigwe’s accident – Access Holdings
He earned a B.Sc. (Hons) in business administration from the American College, Switzerland.
He also earned a law degree from the University of Buckingham, United Kingdom. Ogunbanjo had certificates in International Capital Markets and Maritime Law from the New York Institute of Finance and the University of Southampton respectively.
He provided pro-bono legal services to the Nigerian Chamber of Shipping and the Chris Ogunbanjo Foundation where he also served on its board of directors.
The deceased was the managing partner of the leading corporate law firm of his father Chris Ogunbanjo LP (Solicitors), a firm he joined in 1990 after a spell as a credit analyst with Chase Manhattan Bank (Nigeria) Limited. He served on the boards of several multinational corporations and non-profit organizations including Beta Glass Plc and the advisory board of the University of Buckingham Centre for Extractive Studies. He also served on the Board of GTL Registrars Limited, AIICO Insurance Plc and ConocoPhillips Limited amongst others.
On December 8, 2018, the Elerunwon of Erunwon-Ijebu in Council headed by Oba Johnson Okubena conferred on Ogunbanjo the traditional title of Bamofin of Erunwon Ijebu Kingdom, meaning the “father of lawyers”.
On October 11, 2022, ex-President Muhammadu Buhari conferred the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) on Ogunbanjo for his contributions to the development of the capital markets, corporate law and in recognition of his outstanding virtues and in appreciation of his services to Nigeria.
