Retired Supreme Court Justice, Mary Peter-Odili Heads NHRC Journal

A retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Mary Peter-Odili has been appointed to head the Editorial Advisory Board of the Nigerian National Human Rights Commission Journal (NNHRCJ) with six professors as members.

The Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Chief Tony Ojukwu, while inaugurating the Board on Thursday in Abuja, presented the mega edition of 2028 – 2022 of the journal.

According to Ojukwu, the journal is a collection of scholarly full-length articles on contemporary issues on human rights and added that, “It serves as a useful resource for human rights research and scholarly work. The Commission is determined to improve on the quality of the journal.”

He said the NHRC has registered with the African Journal Online (AJOL), the largest and preeminent platform of African-published peer reviewed scholarly journals and provides access to African-published research which increases world-wide knowledge on indigenous scholarship and that, contributors to the journal (NNHRCJ) would be glad to know that their articles will receive online visibility.

In her inaugural speech, Justice Mary Peter-Odili said the NHRC has, over the years, proven to be an outstanding institution in the promotion and protection of human rights in the country.

“I have always watched their activities with keen interest, being myself a firm believer of the need to have a society where the culture of respect for human rights is promoted. My years on the Bench show clearly my stance on issues of respect for human rights.

“Human Rights affect every aspect of our everyday lives and is at the heart of development itself. It is therefore important to constantly update our knowledge on human rights issues, especially in the world where countries are judged by the level of compliance with human rights norms and standards,” she said.

Other members of the nine-member Editorial Board are a former Director General of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), Prof. Deji Adekunle; a Professor of Law, Prof Obiora Okafor; a former member of the Commission ‘s governing council and a professor of Mass Communication, Prof. Abubakar Muazu and Prof. Jemila Nasir, a professor of Law, University of Jos.

Others are Mrs Ifeoma Nwakama, Prof. Emily Alemika, Prof. Uchenna Emelonye and Chief Tony Ojukwu as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal.