How Human Rights Lawyer Is Providing Legal Aid In Nigeria

Oluwafunke Adeoye is a lawyer, social entrepreneur, and human rights defender with over a decade of experience working on issues relating to criminal justice, human rights, civic space strengthening, and tech for social good.

She is the founder of Hope Behind Bars Africa, a social impact organization working to close the justice gap in Nigeria using legal aid, evidence-based advocacy, data, and technology. So far, over  7,000+ justice-involved individuals have benefited directly from their interventions.

Having experienced the injustice in the justice system after her father was several years ago detained and denied his rights for a crime he did not commit, and having, lost a child to inadequacies of a  government health facility, Oluwafunke is committed to providing access to justice to the underserved and working with relevant stakeholders to strengthen government systems.

Findings shows that she has consulted for Cornell University, the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC),  Network of Women with Disabilities, among others.

She previously worked as a program manager at Global Rights, an international human rights organization that amplifies grassroots voices. Some of her achievements there include co-engaging the ECOWAS Court over the Nigerian government’s ban on Twitter; leading the convening a Pan-African Conference on Business and Human Rights, and building the capacity of over 400 grassroots organizations on government regulatory compliance.

She also engaged the Upper Chamber of Nigeria’s parliament on the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020, legislation that could negatively impact the civic space.

Funke is a graduate of law from the University of Benin, a fellow of the Cornell University Makwanyane Institute for Capital Defenders, and an Acumen West Africa Fellow. She has attended two flagship programs at Lagos Business School, including the prestigious Executive Certificate in Nonprofit Leadership and Management. She was listed by The Attic London as one of the lawyers changing the world for the better in 2020 and has delivered papers across local and international fora, including a panel session with President Robert Spano, President of the European Court of Human Rights, at One Young World Manchester.

In December 2022, Funke’s technology innovation “Justicepadi” emerged as the grand winner of the Unleash Plus Dragons’ Den out of 86 other solutions from across the world. She would be joining other young African leaders at the University of Georgia under the civic engagement track, having been selected for the prestigious Mandela Washington Fellowship, an initiative of President Obama and the US Department of State.