An alumnus of the University of Lagos, Mr. Adeola Austin Oyinlade, has emerged as the first Nigerian to win the American Bar Association International Human Rights Award 2021.

UNILAG in a post on its website commended Oyinlade for the award, expressing delight that its alumnus is the first Nigerian to bag the award.

“The Human Rights and International Law expert was honoured in recognition of his works in advancing human rights solutions in Africa.

“On behalf of the entire university community, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, FAS, congratulates Mr. Adeola Austin Oyinlade on his achievement and wishes him continued success,” the post added.

According to Jinny Choi, in a statement released on behalf of the Association, the award was presented to Mr. Adeola Oyinlade “in recognition of his exceptional commitment and contribution to the advancement of human rights in Nigeria”.

Similarly, in her address, the ABA President, Patricia Lee Refo, described Mr. Oyinlade as one who has “advanced solutions to human rights issues across Africa, including the South Sudan political crisis, the Central African Republic crisis, the Congo Democratic Republic armed conflict and Libyan peace talks”.

This is the second time in three years that the Nigerian lawyer will be recognized by the global legal community for his dedication to Human Rights. In October 2018, Mr. Oyinlade was named the International Bar Association (IBA) in Rome, Italy, the world body of Lawyers, International Bar Association (IBA) Human Rights Lawyer of the Year for his outstanding contribution as a Legal Practitioner to Human Rights advancement.

Oyinlade is the Principal Partner of Adeola Oyinlade & Co, a law firm based in Lagos.

He is also the Founder of Constitutional Rights Awareness and Liberty Initiative, a NGO dedicated to expanding the frontiers of liberty, human rights, democracy and happiness of people in Nigeria.

He graduated from the Faculty of Law with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) in 2011 and bagged his Master of Laws (LLM) degree in 2014 from the same faculty.