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Abimbola is a persuasive advocate with a keen eye for detail and a tenacious approach to legal argument.

Abimbola’s career at the Bar started in criminal defence where her practice encompassed all areas of criminal law. She often appeared in serious and complex cases co-defending with, and against, far more senior members of the Bar.

Abimbola appears in all healthcare tribunals and sits as a legal assessor for Social Work England.

Abimbola has worked on a number of high-profile public inquiries and reviews:

  • She is currently instructed as counsel to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry

  • Between 2019 and 2021 Abimbola was part of the Dame Linda Dobbs Review Team

  • Between 2018 and 2019, Abimbola was part of the Aftermath Team in the Grenfell Public Inquiry

  • In 2012, Abimbola was instructed as part of the team on the Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry. Instructed by the Department of Health.

Abimbola chairs the Independent Scrutiny & Oversight Board which is tasked with scrutinising the National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing’s Race Action Plan, devised to stamp out racism across policing in England and Wales.

In light of Abimbola’s overlapping experience of criminal law, professional misconduct and inquiry work, she is well placed to advise in relation to civil claims against the police. Abimbola is available to provide, advice drafting and advocacy in relation to a range of claims. This includes matters relating to false imprisonment, assault, malicious prosecution and misfeasance in public office as well as breaches of the Data Protection Act 1998 and violations of the Human Rights Act 1998.

Abimbola is also keen to expand her practice to represent bereaved families in inquests.

Crime

Recent notable cases include:

Led Junior

  • R v DJ - Led junior representing youth defendant accused of murdering a stranger in a burglary gone wrong.

  • R v JF - Led junior in a conspiracy to steal cars.

  • R v TK - Led junior representing defendant accused of murdering his girlfriend and then disposing of body in a suitcase.

  • R v MR - Led junior representing defendant accused by UKBA of participating in extensive sham marriage scheme. Successful abuse of process argument on basis of legitimate expectation and corruption by the UKBA investigative team.

  • R v MC - Led junior representing defendant who was acquitted of assisting an offender (murder). Six week trial involving analysis of extensive cell-site evidence.

Junior Alone

  • R v DF - Multi-handed conspiracy to rob, conspiracy to wound with intent and false imprisonment trial. Following the submission of expert evidence, Defendant had been found to be unfit to plead and the matter proceeded on an actus reus basis. Defendant was only found to have inflicted ABH level injuries and acquitted of all other counts.

  • R v DG - Client accused of possession of a firearm following a DNA link. After submissions about the provenance of the DNA and thorough disclosure requests, the prosecution offered no evidence on day two of the trial.

  • R v RA - Multi-handed rape, sexual assault and indecent images trial. All defendants and the complainant were youths issues encompassed consent, intoxication and arguments re admissibility of evidence. Client was acquitted of all counts.

  • R v GK - Multi-handed s.18 and violent disorder.  Trial involved lengthy legal arguments re bad character, hearsay, s78 PACE and submissions of no case to answer.

  • R v FB - Multi-handed violent disorder and affray. Cut-throat defence with bad character and hearsay applications. Defendant acquitted. Self-defence/defence of others.

  • R v EM - Multi-handed aggravated burglary. Defendant accused of attending home address of victim with weapons to steal valuable items.

  • R v JM - Possession with intent to supply Class A. Defendant accused of dealing in heroin and cocaine using female acquaintances’ home addresses as ‘stash houses’ whilst conducting business in London and Oxford.

  • R v ZM - Sexual assault. Defendant accused of sexually assaulting a minor as she travelled home from school. Identification evidence in issue.

  • R v JS - Perverting the course of justice and ABH. Defendant accused of assaulting ex-partner and then attempting to intimidate her into not giving evidence. Defendant acquitted. Self-defence and denial of contact. Issues re bad character and third party disclosure

  • R v WK - Elderly defendant with severe mental health issues accused of sexual offences. Out of court disposal negotiated with prosecution

  • R v DC - Defendant charged with attempted domestic burglary. Case involved forensic and CCTV evidence; bad character and hearsay arguments.

  • R v DM - Defendant charged with harassment and sending malicious communications. Successfully opposed the admission of the majority of the telephone and computer evidence under s.78 PACE

  • R v NP - Defendant charged with serious benefit fraud. Issues surrounding defendant’s vulnerability and understanding of the benefit application procedure. Out of court disposal negotiated.

  • R v SV - Defendant charged under the Health Act 2006 / Smoke Free Regulations. Successfully defended on the grounds that reasonable steps had been taken to comply with the regulations after it transpired that the client had received an expert report prepared in good faith that wrongly informed him that his shisha premises were regulation compliant.

Court of Appeal

  • R v BD - Led junior representing applicant appealing against conviction for possession with intent to supply and perverting the course of justice on the basis of being wrongly advised by previous legal team

  • R v RB - Successful appeal against sentence resulting in a one year reduction in starting point for Appellant's sentence.

  • R v SB - Successful appeal against sentence resulting in reduction from a suspended sentence to a conditional discharge.

Confiscation

  • R v GA - Successfully argued that the previous regime under s.11 POCA should apply when considering extensions of time to pay for a confiscation order originally imposed under that system

  • R v TM - Successfully negotiated a confiscation order of £1000 down from a benefit figure of £52,270.

  • R v AE - Successfully persuaded the Court to exercise its discretion under s6(6) POCA to lower the realisable figure of a confiscation order to £7000 down from £16000 in order to prevent double-recovery by the Crown.

  • R v MD - Successfully argued an amendment to a confiscation order under s.23 POCA from £101,000 to £11,900

  • Regularly instructed to defend in confiscation enforcement matters

Civil Court Orders

  • R v MD - Successfully opposed the imposition of an onerous Serious Crime Prevention Order following MD’s conviction for conspiracy to supply amphetamine and possession with intent to supply. Full hearing involving legal argument and lengthy cross-examination of a police officer.

  • R v AL - Successfully opposed the imposition of an onerous Anti-Social Behaviour Order following AL’s guilty plea to possession with intent to supply class A drugs. Full hearing involved lengthy cross-examination of three police officers.

  • Commissioner of the Metropolis v TB - Defendant faced a closure order in relation to her residence due to extensive drug use taking place in the premises which resulted in anti-social behaviour. The hearing applied civil rules of evidence; involved the use of anonymous witness statements and the cross-examination of an experienced police officer.

Professional Disciplinary Proceedings

 Recent notable cases include:

  • Significant experience presenting matters at the Health and Care Professions Council as part of 9 month long secondment to Kingsley Napley in 2016. Instructed in over 30 cases. She is now regularly instructed by the Royal College of Nursing as a defence advocate in the NMC.

  • Full range of matters dealt with including interim orders, misconduct, lack of competence, health, and conviction and caution cases.

  • Selection of cases in which Abimbola has acted on behalf of registrants in the NMC:

  • NMC v CT - Representing a former district nurse in a lengthy multi-handed hearing in which she and her colleagues were accused of creating and running a substandard practice contributing to a patient’s eventual limb amputation. This was a particularly complex case involving expert evidence and multiple submissions on admissibility of evidence.

  • NMC v JO - Representing a nurse accused of mistakenly believing her patient was not for resuscitation after missing the handover at the beginning of her shift. The majority of the case was successfully dismissed at half-time following written and oral submissions and a thorough review of hours of CCTV

  • NMC v BG - Representing a nurse Representing a nurse accused of forging professional references for himself and colleagues to assist with job applications. This was admitted and a short suspension given following thorough submissions on sanction.

  • NMC v VF - Representing a nurse with a conviction for a dishonesty offence who had also failed to declare it to the Council. This was admitted and a short suspension given.

Selection of cases in which Abimbola has acted as presenting officer on behalf of the HCPC:

  • HCPC v ET - Registrant social worker charged with breaching professional boundaries by visiting service user outside of work hours, taking alcohol to that visit and sending inappropriate messages. Outcome - struck off.

  • HCPC v DS - Registrant operating department practitioner alleged to have self-administered drugs at work. Skeleton argument drafted to refer matter back to competence and conduct committee rather than having the matter heard before the health committee.

  • HCPC v GH - Registrant social worker charged with working as an escort offering sexual services for money. Outcome - struck off.

  • HCPC v TD - Registrant hearing aid dispenser attended home of service user that had not been adequately tested to sell hearing aids belonging to his mother. Outcome - caution.

  • HCPC v FT - Registrant practitioner psychologist with a conviction for 16 counts of possession of indecent images. Outcome - struck off.

  • HCPC v TG - Registrant operating department practitioner charged with behaving inappropriately at work through comments, touching and writing inappropriate letters to co-workers. Outcome - struck off.