About

Lagos-headquartered IHS Towers began life in 2001 as a builder of telecoms towers for mobile network operators. Since that time it has expanded into the management and maintenance of telecoms towers and has grown to one of the world’s largest tower operators, owning over 20,000 towers in Africa and around 70% of Nigeria’s network. Given the cross-border nature of much of IHS Towers’ business, its legal team is spread out over a number of sites, both in Africa and the UK.

General counsel Mustafa Tharoo leads the team and is supported by senior team members such as Aramide Odewunmi, who also serves as head of legal for Nigeria, and Mélissa Trovoada, head of legal in the UK. Nominators also cited a number of IHS Towers’ national counsel, including Jean Martial Mbongue Pallawoh, legal manager for Cameroon. Recent acquisitions of towers from South African operator MTN and UAE-based Etisalat involved negotiating and drafting complex agreements and leases, highlighting the broader commercial skill of the team and their contribution to IHS Towers’ recent surge in growth.