BRITISH COUNCIL HONOURS EX-NFIU DIRECTOR, IBEKAKU
In recognition of her contribution towards enhancing the rights of women, the British Council is set to honor the immediate past Director of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, Barrister Juliet Ibekaku with an outstanding achievements Award.
The nomination notice is contained in a letter dated 26th February 2014, made available to newsmen. The letter reads in part:
'The Justice for All (J4A) Programme in collaboration with the Nigerian Stability and Reconciliation Programme (NSRP) is organizing a seminar on 'Women, Peace and Security: the missing Millennium Development Goal (MDG)' in commemoration of International Women's Day. As part of the seminar, a number of individuals who have contributed to enhancing the rights of women in the justice sector over the past year are to be appreciated.'
'J4A is delighted to advise that you have been nominated for an Outstanding Achievement award for your role in inspiring change and supporting initiatives that benefit women'
The award shall be presented to her in Abuja today, in commemoration of the international Women's Day, 2014.
Ibekaku has twenty-two years postgraduate experience as an international criminal law attorney and development expert. She was called to the Nigerian Bar as a Barrister and Solicitor in 1993. She has a Masters degree in International Human Rights, Humanitarian and Criminal Law. She is one of the pioneer staff of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Through her work on governance, she made significant contributions to the review of laws, regulations and procedures to strengthen anti-corruption institutional and legal measures in Nigeria and internationally.
She has been an advocate for strengthening women's rights organizations to advocate for human rights based approaches to defending women's human rights and the strengthening of governance institutions in Nigeria. She is the founder of J.C.Ibekaku Hope Project. The Foundation supports leadership and entrepreneurial development for women and youths.
She is a receipient of Macarthur Foundation Award on "Fund for Leadership Development" and the United States Agency award for "Superior Unit Citation".
Prior to joining the Nigerian government, she served in several international capacities, including: the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism in West Africa (GIABA), Senegal, the Commonwealth Secretariat, among others.
Barrister Ibekaku has spoken and facilitated several national and international conferences including the Cambridge Symposium on Economic Crimes, UK, the Florida International Bankers Association Conference, Miami USA, the Bank of America Annual Seminar on Fraud Prevention, and the United Nations Conference on Countering Global Terrorism.