Adeola Oyinlade wins IBA 2018 human rights honour

A Nigerian human rights lawyer, Adeola Oyinlade, has been declared winner of the International Bar Association’s award for outstanding contribution for 2018. 
 
The prestigious award was presented to him at this year’s IBA Conference in Rome, Italy. 
 
Each year, the International Bar Association (IBA), presents the award to an outstanding lawyer in the world of human rights law.

The IBA has a membership of over 80,000 individual lawyers, 195 bar associations, and law societies spanning all continents across the world.

As a lawyer advocating equitable, just and fair society over the years, he has taken his human rights empowerment further by simplifying human rights laws and safeguards to the understanding of ordinary people on the street in English and major local languages including Pidgin, Hausa, Igbo. and Yoruba spoken by over 180 million people in Nigeria.

The IBA award winner pioneered human rights empowerment via mobile technology when he created ‘Know Your Rights Nigeria’ app for millions of android, iPhone and web users in Nigeria. 
 
Since the human right lawyer unveiled the app and web version for human rights empowerment, it has proved very effective for its free access, speedy dissemination of human rights information and free legal advisory with over 200 thousand people as beneficiaries.

The rights empowerment app in major local languages has made a real difference for the situation of the defenceless and ordinary people on the street in Nigeria.
 
Earlier this year at the U.S Consulate in Lagos, the U.S Consul General John Bray has commended and “acknowledge Oyinlade and the work he has done to strengthen respect and support for the protection of human rights in Nigeria’.
  
He worked as a resource person to the African Union Commission on the implementation of African Youth Charters and delivered papers on how AU member states can reform local laws for the implementation of the charter.
 
At the presentation of the award at Roma Convention Center La Nuvola, the IBA stated the prestigious Award is for outstanding contribution by a Legal Practitioner to Human Rights in which Mr. Oyinlade came top among lawyers across the world.
  
Oyinlade is the first Nigerian lawyer to have won the IBA award for outstanding contribution by a legal practitioner to human rights and the second from the continent of Africa after George Bizos from South Africa who was recommended by many personalities including Nelson Mandela.