By Huldah Shado
Founder and Executive Director of Hope Behind Bars Africa, Funke Adeoye, has won the Outstanding Young Lawyer Award of the International Bar Association (IBA).
She received the award on Thursday during the IBA’s Annual Conference in Toronto, Canada.
The honour recognizes lawyers aged 35 and below who demonstrate exceptional commitment to the rule of law, ethical excellence, and service to humanity.
Adeoye, who founded Hope Behind Bars Africa at 26, has led efforts that secured the release of over 400 unjustly detained inmates through pro bono legal services.
According to the organisation’s Communications Officer, Ogechi Ogwuma, Adeoye was selected from a global pool of nominees for her pioneering work in access to justice, human rights, and legal technology.
In her remarks, Adeoye dedicated the award to young African lawyers and human rights defenders striving to uphold the rule of law across the continent.
