John Femi-Ola KC KC > 3TG Barristers > London, England > Barrister Profile

John Femi-Ola KC is a highly regarded criminal silk with a practice centred (though not exclusively) at the Central Criminal Court, where he is routinely up against senior treasury counsel and other leading silks.

He has been instructed in factually complex, intellectually demanding, and unusual cases. In the past five years, he has been instructed as silk in more than thirty murder-related allegations in London and other parts of the country. These cases are amongst the most serious and high profile, including allegations of double murder (e.g. R v Cohen, Bagel shop heir), baby shaking (e.g. R v C) and fatal shootings. Several of these cases are multi-handed.

He has also been instructed in cases alleging terrorism (he represented Sudesh Annan in an earlier matter before he was subsequently shot dead by police in Streatham). John also represented Sonia Ekweremadu, one of four defendants to stand trial in a kidney harvesting case, which was the first prosecution of its kind under the Modern Slavery Act 2015. John’s client was the only defendant acquitted.

His practice is diverse, and he has a wealth of experience in all areas of criminal law. He has been instructed in cases of large-scale fraud and international money laundering – such as the case of Neil More, which involved an investigation by the FBI into financial attacks on UK banks and the US Federal bank, with more than £1.8m stolen.

He has extensive experience acting in very serious drugs allegations – such as in the case of S, who was alleged to be part of an international cartel masterminding substantial importations of cocaine from Latin America via South Africa into the UK. Of the five men who stood trial, he was the only one acquitted by the Jury.

John acts in sex and historical sex cases with multiple complainants. He recently represented H, a multi-millionaire businessman accused of such offences. Another high-prolife case concerned allegations of serious sex assaults alleged to have been carried out by a religious elder. He was subsequently acquitted at trial.

He receives instructions to represent medical professionals, lawyers, pharmacists, and sporting professionals.

Late last year, he represented a defendant in a case alleging ritual/religious circumcision of a male child. This was the first prosecution of its kind in this country. The defendant was acquitted on the main allegation.

As a junior barrister, he worked on a national newspaper as a night libel lawyer. He was also a visiting lecturer and tutor on a graduate diploma course for non-law graduates wishing to enter the law profession. He is devoted to encouraging greater entry to the Bar of black people and others from minority backgrounds.

He previously served on the Gray’s Inn Barrister’s Committee. He is a member of the Criminal Bar Association and the South Eastern Circuit.

He is accredited by the Bar Council to provide Public Access Services.