Agomoh, activist joins House of reps race
Dr. Uju Agomoh
Veteran activist and justice sector reform advocate, Dr. (Mrs.) Uju Agomoh has joined the race for the House of Representatives under the umbrella of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Analysts believe that this has completely changed the face of the contest for the Ikwuano/Umuahia Federal Constituency seat.
Agomoh, the Founder/Executive Director of Prisoners’ Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA), is considered by many as a thoroughbred and consummate technocrat whose deep knowledge of the justice sector landscape is greatly needed at the National Assembly.
She picked the nomination form to run for the office at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Headquarters recently.
Reputed for her all-round technical knowledge and deep insights, the lawyer and former United Nations Office on Drug Control (UNODC) consultant is vying for the ticket at a time many technocrats are being encouraged to deploy their wealth of knowledge to salvage the tottering political ship.
Agomoh is seen by many as one of the few technocrats that have braved the odds to throw their hats into the ring and dabble into the murky waters of Nigerian politics.
She was recently honoured by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) “for outstanding contribution to criminal justice reforms in Nigeria.”
She has also served as a member of the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria (NHRC).
She was the Commission’s Special Rapporteur on Police, Prisons and Centres of Detention (2001-2008) as well as a member of the Presidential Committee on Prerogative of Mercy Committee of Nigeria (2006-2009).
An avid grassroots activist, she was the Team Lead, Prison Reform Component of the Security and Justice Reform Programme of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office as well as the National Coordinator, Nigerian Police Human Rights Programme.
A consultant to the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, Agomoh has severally been engaged to provide technical inputs and support to Nigeria’s National Assembly on the review of some legislative bills among others.
A consultant to the Nigerian Police Force and Nigerian Prison Service among others, Agomoh is also the President of International Corrections and Prisons Association, Africa Chapter (ICPA-Africa) and Executive Committee Member of the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), representing Sub-Saharan Africa between 2012 and 2016.
She is a long-standing and widely respected prison advocate with an outstanding track record in prison reform advocacy.
She was until recently the Project Coordinator of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) “Support to Justice Sector in Nigeria” project, an intervention programme funded by the European Union under the 10th European Union Development Fund.
She was also the Lead Consultant for the design of the “Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) Project” under the 11th European Union. Development Fund.
