Joy Ngozi Ezeilo is a Nigerian professor of

public law Public law is the part of law that governs relations between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that are of direct ...

, a senior advocate of Nigeria, an

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

, and a six-year United Nations Special Rapporteur on Trafficking persons in Africa. She is also a former

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

for Gender and Social Development, Enugu State. She was a former Dean and HOD of faculty of law University of Nigeria Nsukka and the founder of the Women Aid Collective (WACOL). She is a recipient of Officer of the Order of Niger (OON) and one of the 2022 BBC 100 Women

Early life and education

Joy was born in 1966 at Enugu in Nigeria. She earned her Ph.D. in Nigeria, LLM in London

LL.B Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

. also in Nigeria BL, Diploma, Peace & Conflict Resolution in Uppsala.

Career

Joy became a professor of Law in 2011. She was part of the United Nations Civil Society Advisory Board on Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse between Feb 2019 to Feb 2022. In 2013, she was selected by the UN Secretary-General as one of the members of the Board of Trustees UN Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking that is managed by the UNODC Vienna, Austria. In Nigeria, She is the Chairperson of the Sexual Assault Referral Network (SARC), a co-chair of Africa Advisory Committee, Human Rights Watch, Africa Division, and a Council Member Human Rights Institute of the

Nigerian Bar Association The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) is a non-profit, umbrella professional association of all lawyers admitted to the bar in Nigeria. It is engaged in the promotion and protection of human rights, the rule of law and good governance in Nigeria. T ...

(NBA). Between 2012 and 2015, Ezeilo was nominated as a Commissioner for Gender and Social Development in Enugu State. She delivered the 144th Inaugural Lecture of the University of Nigeria on October 11, 2018. It was entitled, "`Are we born free or equal? Law, Justice and Human Rights in Nigeria’." On December 19, 2023, she was appointed a member of the United Nations' Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan, working alongside

Mohamed Chande Othman Mohamed Chande Othman (born 1 January 1952) is a Tanzanian lawyer and a former Chief Justice of Tanzania. Internationally he is highly respected for his deep understanding of political, legal and other dimensions relating to International Human ...

of Tanzania and Mona Rishmawi of Jordan/Switzerland on the mission.

Awards

In 1995, Joy won British Chevening School Scholarship. In 1998, she won the MacArthur Funds for Leadership Development. In 2006, she was honoured with a Nigerian Government national honour of Officer of the Order of Nigeria (OON) by President Olusegun Obasanjo (GCFR). In 2013, she was named in Newsweek & Daily Beast of 125 Women of Impact worldwide. In 2019, she won the National Human Rights Award and the Hon. Justice Taslim Elias Award (given to law professors who had taught for over twenty-five years in Nigerian universities). On March 5, 2022, she was given the civil society award of Excellence by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). In 2022, she was awarded as one of the 2022 BBC 100 Women. On March 5, 2022, she was honoured with the Civil Society Award of Excellence by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/ UN Women in collaboration with the Embassies of the United States of America, Germany, France, EU Delegation and the

British High Commission A British High Commission is a British diplomatic mission, equivalent to an embassy, found in countries that are members of the Commonwealth of Nations. Their general purpose is to provide diplomatic relationships as well as travel information, ...

to commemorate the International Women’s Day Awards Gala.

Personal life

She is a high Chief in Igboland bestowed with the triple chieftaincy of ''Ochendo'', ''Ada ejiejemba Ndi Igbo'', and ''Nzebuna chi''. She was married to the late Dr. Augustine Ezenta Ezeilo, and they have adult children and grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ezeilo, Joy Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Enugu State Igbo lawyers Academic staff of the University of Nigeria Officers of the Order of the Niger United Nations special rapporteurs Nigerian women lawyers