Prof. (Chief) Anthony Okechukwu Ojukwu, SAN, Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and President of the Network of National Human Rights Institutions in West Africa, will join other eminent voices as a panelist at the Nigerian Bar Association Annual General Conference on August 26, 2025, speaking on the topic Citizens’ Rights & Security Concerns.
Born in Imo State and inspired from the age of seven to pursue a legal career, Ojukwu obtained his LLB from the University of Nigeria in 1985 and was called to the Bar in 1986. He holds an LLM from the University of Lagos and has trained globally in human rights and governance at institutions such as Equitas, Canada, and Public Administration International, London.
His career has spanned service as Research Assistant to the Attorney-General of the Federation, State Administrative Secretary of the National Electoral Commission in Imo, and Special Assistant to successive Attorneys-General and NHRC Executive Secretaries. In a historic feat, he became the first NHRC staffer to rise to Executive Secretary and the first to attain the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria while in office.
Since his appointment in December 2021, Ojukwu has driven reforms that include establishing 12 new NHRC state offices, constructing permanent complaint outlets, digitising the complaint system, embedding human rights desks in military operations, and spearheading panels on SARS reform, electoral security, sexual and gender-based violence, and prison decongestion.
His leadership has emphasised a practical blend of justice and security, rooted in accountability, institutional development, and citizen engagement.
At the conference, conferees can expect a compelling exploration of the inseparable link between justice and security, the role of the legal profession in holding security agencies accountable, the mainstreaming of human rights into security operations, and the urgent need for dialogue between lawyers, law enforcement, and civil society.
With over three decades of legal and reform experience, Ojukwu is set to deliver a thought-provoking and solutions-driven perspective that will challenge and inspire the profession to reimagine Nigeria’s justice-security framework for a more peaceful and rights-respecting society.
