Ann-Kio Briggs, alternatively spelled Annkio Briggs, (born 29 July 1952 in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

) is an English-born

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

and

human rights activist A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing cam ...

. She is the founder and director of the

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...

Agape Birthrights. As of 2011, she was

spokesperson A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman, is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...

of the

Ijaw Ijaw may refer to: *Ijaw people The Izon people or Izon Otu, otherwise known as the Ijaw people due to the historic mispronunciation of the name ''Izon'', are an ethnic group majorly found in the Niger Delta in Nigeria, with significant populatio ...

Republican Assembly (IRA) as well as the United Niger Delta Energy Development Security Strategy (UNDEDSS).

Early life and education

Briggs was born on 29 July 1952 in

. She was born to a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

mother and an

marine

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

. During her early years, she was taken to live with her

paternal grandmother Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually-reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetic gra ...

who raised her alongside her father in

Abonnema Abonnema, originally known as Nyemoni (which means "covet your own" in the Kalabari dialect of the Ijaw language), is a large town in the Kalabari Kingdom that was founded in 1882. Its territory was discovered by an expedition of four independent c ...

Rivers State Rivers State, also known as Rivers, is a state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed in 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include: Imo to the north, Abia and Akwa ...

. While in Abonnema, she completed her elementary school and enrolled at Holy Rosary Girls School in Port Harcourt for her secondary

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

. From (1967 to 1970), her academic studies were impeded by the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, and after the war ended, Briggs moved with her family to

where she studied Marketing and got married. She and her husband had four children together and

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

d in 1998. Briggs is fluent in

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a ...

, as well as her native language, Kalabari. She also speaks

Pidgin English Pidgin English is a non-specific name used to refer to any of the many pidgin languages derived from English. Pidgins that are spoken as first languages become creoles. English-based pidgins that became stable contact languages, and which have ...

Career

In 1998, after several years in

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, she returned to the

Niger Delta The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitic ...

and established Agape Birthrights, a

non-governmental A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

and a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

, having its headquarters in D-line

. Briggs, through her organization has helped some developing areas to document cleaning of oil spillage and fighting against injustices and marginalisation. She also collaborates internationally with other organizations home and abroad.

Awards

she received the Ijaw heroes award from the

republic assembly

References

External links

Agape Birthrights website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Briggs, Ann-Kio 1952 births Living people Activists from Rivers State Nigerian environmentalists Nigerian women environmentalists Nigerian people of English descent English people of Nigerian descent Nigerian human rights activists Ijaw people Holy Rosary College alumni Nigerian Christians Nigerian activists Nigerian women activists