NBLSA C.A.R.E.S. 2013 International Service Trip to Nigeria Trip Report
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Summary Between January 2, 2013 and January 9, 2013, ten NBLSA members from all over the country, traveled to Lagos, Nigeria where they volunteered at the Women's Consortium of Nigeria, a grassroots human rights organization committed to addressing the issues of human trafficking, illegal child labor, women's rights, and civil education in Nigeria. During the trip, the participants also visited Nigeria’s National Agency for the Protection of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), as well as the agency’s shelter for trafficked persons. In order to learn more about the practice of law in Nigeria, the group met with many key members of the Nigerian legal community including the Chief Judge of Lagos State, the Attorney General of Lagos State, retired Supreme Court Justice George Oguntade, the former Solicitor General of the Federation, Mrs. T. Akerele (Edu), the Oba (King) of Lagos, and many other prominent lawyers. Additionally, the group visited Aluko & Oyebode, one of Nigeria’s most prominent law firms. The group also sat on a panel at the Educational Advisory Center (EAC) of the United States Consulate in Lagos, where they spoke to Nigerian students interested in studying law in the United States. NBLSA’s National Director of International Relations, Ms. Diepiriye “Piriye” Anga, led the trip.
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About NBLSA C.A.R.E.S.
NBLSA and
The National Black Law Students Association (NBLSA) is the nation's largest student-run organization representing over 6,000 minority law students from over 200 chapters and affiliates throughout the United States and six other countries. In addition to articulating and promoting the educational, professional, and political goals and objectives of black law students, NBLSA runs a number of community service initiatives both in the United States and abroad. The NBLSA C.A.R.E.S. (Contributing through Advocacy, Resources, Education, and Service) program was designed in 2007 to provide NBLSA members with opportunities to learn more about international legal issues while volunteering abroad. 2013 marks the fifth year that NBLSA has sent students from law schools across the country to volunteer internationally, and the second year that NBLSA members have traveled to Nigeria. To date, NBLSA has raised over $8000 and volunteered more than 1000 hours on behalf of international issues.
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About WOCON The Women’s Consortium of Nigeria (WOCON) is a grassroots human rights organization committed to addressing the issues of human trafficking, illegal child labor, women's rights, and civil education in Nigeria. The organization was founded in 1995 by its current Executive Director, Mrs. Bisi Olateru-Olagbegi. Mrs. OlateruOlagbegi is a lawyer called to the Nigerian Bar in 1976, a notary public, and member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK). She is also an international gender consultant, researcher and board member of several international and national NGOs. Over the years, WOCON has become one of Nigeria’s leading anti-trafficking organizations. The organization currently holds United Nations consultative status and has been instrumental in assisting with the rescue, rehabilitation, and reintegration efforts of trafficked persons all over the country. WOCON works closely with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficked Persons (NAPTIP), the federal agency in charge of investigating and prosecuting traffickers, implementing
public
enlightenment initiatives, and providing care for formerly trafficked people. Both WOCON and NAPTIP have satellite offices throughout Nigeria and have helped thousands of trafficking survivors return to normal life. More information about WOCON may be found at http://www.womenconsortiumofnigeria.org. More information about NAPTIP may be found at http://www.naptip.gov.ng.
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2013 NBLSA C.A.R.E.S. PARTICIPANTS Diepiriye “Piriye� Anga is the National Director of International Relations of the National Black Law Students Association (NBLSA). Ms. Anga received her B.A. in Political Science from Villanova University. She is currently a second-year student at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. In addition to her role with NBLSA, Ms. Anga is an Associate Editor of the University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law and serves as a Professional Development Co-Chair for the University of Pennsylvania Black Law Students Association (Penn BLSA). She is also actively involved in pro bono work on both a local and international level. Prior to beginning her second year at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Ms. Anga worked as a summer associate first at Wiggin and Dana LLP and then in the Legal and Risk Services Department at the Yale New Haven Health System. Following her second year, she will work as a summer associate at Kaye Scholer LLP in New York City. Omolayo Adebayo is a second-year student at the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law. She received my B.A. in History from the University of Maryland, College Park. In 2011, she volunteered with the Ghana Health and Education Initiative Girls' Empowerment Program to promote confidence in young Ghanaian girls. Prior to beginning her second year at Catholic, Ms. Adebayo worked as a legal intern for Judge Joseph A. Dugan Jr. at the Montgomery County Circuit Court.
Denise Acron is a second-year student at Wake Forest University School of Law in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Ms. Acron hails from the city of San Diego. She received her undergraduate degree in AfricanAmerican Studies cum laude from Columbia University in 2011. While at Columbia, she studied at the University of Ghana, Legon. During this time she also taught Spanish and Math at Bawaleshie Primary School in 4
Ghana.
Her
extracurricular activities include serving as Parliamentarian for Wake Forest's chapter of the Black Law Students Association, law student recruiter for the Big Brother Big Sister Program of Winston Salem, and as a mentor for Wake Forest international law students.
Nnamdi Ekeh is a third- year student at North Carolina Central University School of Law. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication from Grambling State University. In the summer after his second year, Nnamdi Interned with the United States Congress under the leadership of Congresswoman Marcia Fudge. He had previously interned at the Center of Death Penalty Litigation and is currently an intern at the Law Office of John Eluwa PLLC. Upon graduation, Mr. Ekeh intends to pursue a career in public interest law.
Angelica Fortney is a third-year student the University of Tennessee School of Law where she is an active member of BLSA, volunteers for UT Pro Pono, and serves as Research Editor and Founding Member of The Tennessee Journal of Race, Gender, & Social Justice. Ms. Fortney earned her B.A. in Political Science from Vanderbilt University where she was President of the Vanderbilt Black Student Alliance, member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and a Top 20 Outstanding Senior. Upon graduation, she will be returning to her hometown of Memphis to practice. Laura Ingabire is a third-year student at the Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law. In addition to her J.D., Ms. Ingabire is also pursuing a Masters in Public Policy and Administration at the Ohio State University’s John Glenn School of Public Affairs. In the summer of 2012, she worked as 5
a law Central After Ms. Ingabire hopes to pursue a career in international law.
clerk at the Ohio Transit Authority. graduation,
J. Olabisi Ogboye is a third-year student at Michigan State University (MSU) College of Law. She obtained her bachelors degree, magna cum laude, in International Criminal Justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York. At MSU, Bisi is a Senior Associate Member of the International Law Review, the Chapter President and Midwest Regional Director of Membership for the Black Law Students Association, and a Founding Member of Wellness is Practice. She has worked at the MSU Law Plea and Sentencing Clinic, representing indigent criminal defendants on the appellate level. She has also interned at both the Kings County and New York County District Attorney’s Offices in New York. Olusheun Olaoshebikan is a third-year student at the Georgetown University Law Center. He received his Bachelor's Degree from the University of Chicago in History and African and African-American Studies. He has a Master's Degree from Middlebury College in French and another Master's Degree from Columbia University in French Cultural Studies in a Global Context. Sheun is a member of several human rights committees at Georgetown. He spent his 1L summer working with an anti-trafficking NGO in Italy and his 2L summer at the UN Refugee Agency. Steve Stoute is a second-year student at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He received his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Seton Hall University in 2004 and his Master’s degree in Sports Administration from the 6
University of North CarolinaChapel Hill in 2007. Prior to joining the Penn Law community Steve worked in a variety of capacities at the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the University of Southern California and Princeton University. Steve currently volunteers through the Prisoners Education Advocacy Project, was elected Vice President of the Penn Law Council of Student Representatives, serves as Treasurer of the Black Law Students Association and as Chairperson of the PostAcceptance Committee.
Amber Ware is a third-year student at Northern Illinois University College of Law. Amber earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Hampton University. After her first year of law school, she studied abroad in Cape Town, South Africa where she studied comparative constitutional law, comparative criminal justice and alternative dispute resolution. During her 2L year she was the President of her school’s BLSA chapter. That same year she worked for her school’s Center of Child Welfare and Education and interned at the DeKalb County Public Defender. During her 2L summer, she started an internship with the Illinois Innocence Project where she worked diligently to assist overturning the convictions of falsely accused defendants. In her last year in law school she continues to work with the Innocence project and is also a law clerk at Cook County Office of Public Guardian.
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PROJECTS AND PROGRAMMING IN NIGERIA WOMEN’s CONSORTIUM OF NIGERIA (WOCON) Throughout the trip, the group worked with the Women’s Consortium of Nigeria. The organization’s director, Mrs. Bisi Olateru- Olagbegi introduced the group to WOCON’s work and discussed some of the issues they face as non-partisan NGO combating human trafficking and child labor. The group learned that WOCON’s primary purpose is to assist and rehabilitate human trafficking victims and to make sure that the Nigerian government is doing its part to prevent such crimes. In addition to working with formerly trafficked people, the organization has been invited to many panels to discuss women’s rights, and has also been involved in creating documentaries about gender-based poverty and domestic servitude. WOCON’s third focus is the education and political empowerment of women. The NBLSA delegation also met with representatives from various other non-profit organizations such as the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) and the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) who explained the ways in which they connect with and inform uneducated citizens about their rights through outreach programs and public campaigns relating to trafficking and gender violence. Additionally, the group learned about the various ways that people are trafficked in to, through, and out of Nigeria and the measures being taken by the
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government and
various non-
profit
organizations
to combat the issue. In 2003, Nigeria became the first country in the West African region to enact legislation specifically combatting human trafficking. The Act is known as the “Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act of 2003.” In the years since then, the law has begun to gain some ground in terms of use in judicial enforcement.
After orientation and basic training, each member of the NBLSA group was given an individual assignment, which he or she was responsible on working on throughout the duration of the trip. These assignments included creating briefs for WOCON’s ongoing cases and drafting the organization’s Fall 2012 trafficking-focused newsletter.
National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficked Persons (NAPTIP) On January 3, 2013, the NBLSA delegation visited the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficked Persons (NAPTIP)’s Lagos office and the agency’s shelter for formerly trafficked people. During the visit, representatives from each division of NAPTIP made presentations on the role of their division in achieving NAPTIP’s overall mission. The representatives explained NAPTIP’s role in the prosecution of trafficking and attempts to traffic in Nigeria, as well as its collaboration with the Nigeria Immigration Service, to ensure that all people entering and leaving Nigeria have proper and valid documentation. Finally, the Director of NAPTIP’s shelter described the 9
shelter’s
mission and purpose, as
well as
the facilities
available to residents. Formerly trafficked people rescued by NAPTIP are taken to one of the agency’s shelters where they are housed for a minimum duration of six weeks. During their time at the shelter, residents not only receive psychological counseling and assistance, but basic education and vocational training (in cooking, sewing, hair braiding and other trades) to help them reintegrate into society once they leave.
Attorney general of lagos state; Chief judge OF LAGOS STATE On January 3, 2013, the group also met with the Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice Lagos State, Mr. Ade Ipaye, and the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Judge Ayotunde Phillips. The Attorney General discussed the various divisions within his office with the group and explained that as Lagos State’s Commissioner of Justice, he is authorized to commence legal action against anyone who commits a crime within the state. The Attorney General explained the functions of the various departments in his office including Civil Litigation, Advisory Services, and Citizens Rights. Through these offices traffickers operating in or passing through Lagos State are prosecuted and trafficking victims who very often cannot afford lawyers can obtain representation from the state. Judge Phillips explained the history of the Lagos State judiciary to the group and broke down the path of cases from her court to the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Judge
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Phillips
also described
the
Lagos State judiciary’s
efforts to combat human trafficking and ways that students and other lay people can get involved.
Supreme court justice Oguntade; SOliCITOR-GENERAL (akerele) Edu On January 6, 2013 the group attended a reception hosted for NBLSA by Chief Demola Edu where they met with former Supreme Court Justice, George Oguntade and Mrs. T. (Akerele) Edu, the first female Solicitor-General of the Federation. Justice Oguntade and Mrs. Akerele discussed different aspects of Nigeria's legal system and the need to improve the infrastructure currently in place in the federal judiciary. They also discussed the competitive nature of the legal field and the need for education reform. They pointed out that the field does not have the capacity to absorb the large number of students that graduate law school and that the system needs to be
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restructured to
ensure that
students
are not only
graduating, but have increased job opportunities.
U.S. CoNSULATE (EDUCATIONAL ADVISORY CENTER) NBLSA went to the U.S. Consulate in Lagos to participate in a panel for Nigerian students who were interesting in studying law in the United States. The Nigerian students in attendance asked the group questions on a wide range of topics including choosing a college major that will be helpful in law school, navigating the law school application process, obtaining financial aid, and how best to succeed once in law school. 12
ALUKO &
OYEBODE
On January 7, 2013 the group visited a leading Nigerian law firm, Aluko & Oyebode where they met with two associates and the firm’s founding partner, Mr. Gbenga Oyebode. The group was given an overview of legal practice in Africa generally and Nigeria specifically, as well as a presentation about the firm’s history and current structure. As the biggest law firm in Nigeria in terms of number of attorneys, Aluko & Oyebode boasts a variety of practice areas including corporate, banking and finance, capital markets, litigation, arbitration, and intellectual property. In addition to this, the firm prides itself on its corporate social responsibility initiatives including its scholarship programs and pro bono practice.
CONCLUSION NBLSA is extremely proud of the work we do in Nigeria. From an international relations and comparative law perspective, it is important to us that our members have opportunities to travel and learn about the legal systems in other countries. Equally as important is that as an organization committed to community service, we are always excited to give back to communities in the United States, and all over the world. 13
This year
NBLSA members
donated $1000 to WOCON as a show of support for the organization’s mission. We hope to continue partnering with organizations in Nigeria and bringing awareness to the issue of human trafficking. We also hope to continue expanding our organization’s network of affiliate student organizations and to keep learning more about the practice of law around the world. We are happy to have expanded on NBLSA’s international programming from 2012 and are committed to maintaining and growing these initiatives in the coming years.
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