Innocent is a resources, energy and mining expert. He holds an LL.M in Natural Resources Law (with specialization on Mineral Law, Policy and Economics) from the University of Dundee. He was the Principal Legal Counsel for the Minerals Commission and has been involved in key mining and energy sector legal and regulatory reform projects in Ghana since 1994. He has also participated in the drafting of mining legislation for two Commonwealth countries. He is a member of the IBA section on Energy and Natural Resources, with current membership of SERL Committees on Minerals and Oil and Gas Law.
Prior to his LLM Studies, Innocent successfully completed an Advanced Professional Training Certificate Course for Mining Executives, with special tutoring in Privatization and Contract Negotiations in 1995.
In 1998 he won a Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation (CFTC) Scholarship to receive professional internship training at the Economic and Legal Advisory Services Division (ELASD), at the Commonwealth Secretariat, London. As part of the training, he participated in the review and drafting of Mining Legislation for two Commonwealth countries under the Commonwealth Technical Assistance Programme. He has also participated in specialized local and international Professional Training Programmes on “Legal and Regulatory Issues in Power and Energy Sectors (International Law Institute Washington D.C, 2000), “West African Gas Pipe Line Project Negotiations, USAID, Lome, Togo 2000); Finance For Lawyers (Ghana Stock Exchange, 2001) and the First African School For International Financial Law”, (Euromoney Legal Training/African Development Bank Accra, 2003).
In addition to his academic specialization in Natural Resources Law, Innocent has also gained invaluable practical working experience from the Mining and Energy Sectors for the past twenty years. He was called to the Bar in Ghana in 1988. He has since practiced law as a Judicial Research Assistant, Ghana Judicial Service, Accra; Associate of Bentsi-Enchill & Letsa, Legal Practitioners, Accra; Principal Legal Counsel Ghana Minerals Commission; and Legal Counsel/Secretary to the Ghana Energy Commission. He has also been actively involved in key Mining and Energy sector Legal and Regulatory Projects in Ghana since 1994 and has acted as local counsel for multinational companies in major international business transactions such as mergers and acquisitions and public offerings by US and Canadian Public companies with established resource development projects in Ghana. His areas of focus are Natural Resources Law, Energy Law, Mining Law, International Investment Law, Project Finance, Mergers and Acquisitions and Alternative Dispute Resolution. Since 2006 he has been listed yearly by WHO is Who Legal in the International WHO’S WHO of Mining Lawyers and the WHO IS WHO of Business Lawyers as one of the global experts in mining law.