Defence for Children International – Nigeria Section

Mission and Vision

We are dedicated to ensuring on-going, practical, systematic and concerted international action directed towards promoting and protecting the rights of the child, as articulated in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), its optional protocols, and all the other human rights instruments.
 

DCI-Nigeria is a national organisation and was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) of Nigeria in 1996.

Our Vision:

DCI-Nigeria envisions a just and responsible society where Nigerian children can exercise their rights and are cared for by all and sundry.
 

Our Mission:

We are dedicated to ensuring on-going, practical, systematic and concerted national and international action directed towards promoting and protecting the rights of the child, as articulated in the national mechanisms, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), its optional protocols, and all the other human rights instruments.

Our core aims and objectives are:

• To foster awareness about, and solidarity around, children's rights, situations, issues and initiatives throughout the world.

• To seek, promote and implement the most effective means of securing the protection of the rights in concrete situations, from both a preventative and curative standpoint.

DCI-Nigeria is a not-for-profit organization. Some of our activities include but are not limited to:

• Engaging in training, research, policy dialogues and documentation on issues of child rights, child labour, violence against women and children;

• Training and capacity building for the media, airline operatives, immigration officials, government agencies, schools, parents and youth organizations on all areas of child/human rights, child/human trafficking, slavery, etc;

• Publishing information on all aspects of children's rights and violence against women through regular and ad-hoc publications;

• Partner with other reputable organizations working on similar issues;

• Taking up specific cases of violations of children's rights and violence against women referred to us as an independent agency;

• Undertaking action-oriented investigations, alone or jointly, on serious global problems which are found to be inadequately documented internationally, e.g. the sexual exploitation of children and women, women and children in prison, child slavery, etc.;

• Taking direct action in response to situations involving the violation of rights of specific groups of children;

• Monitoring and evaluating the practical implementation of accepted children's rights;

• Working for improved international standards in the children's rights sphere;

• Stimulating co-operation and action, nationally, regionally and internationally, to improve responses to children's rights problems.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Prof. Sarah B.A. Oloko (Board Chair)

Sarah Oloko is a retired Professor of Sociology of Education at the Dept. of Educational Foundations, University of Lagos. She holds a Masters and PhD in Anthropology from Harvard University, Boston. A seasoned and well respected Expert on Child Development and gender issues, Prof. Oloko has carried out several studies and research as well as presented papers on Child Labour & Trafficking, Child Abuse and Neglect, Youth Leadership amongst others. She had served as a consultant to ECOWAS on the draft ECOWAS Child Policy and Chairperson of the Technical Committee to draft the National Policy on Child Labour. She currently sits on the Board of many organizations.

Mr. Femi Aderibigbe (Vice Chair of the Board)

Femi Aderibigbe, is currently the Deputy General Manager – Technology & Business Process Group at Fidelity Bank Plc. A technology strategist and business executive with vast experience (19+ years) in systems implementation, consulting, process improvement and executive-level financial service, Femi began his IT career with NCR Nigeria Plc in 1987 as an ATM/Banking Software Specialist and his banking career with Diamond Bank in 1991 as a Systems Administrator; he joined Valucard Nigeria Plc as the Head of Settlement and Customer Support Division and then UBA Plc, where he was the Group Head, Electronic Banking & Card Products. Femi holds both Masters and Bachelors degrees in Computer Sciences from the University of Lagos. He is also an alumnus of the Senior Executive Internship program at the prestigious Harvard Business School, Boston MA.

Prof. Adebayo Olukoshi

Adebayo Olukoshi, is currently Executive Secretary of the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA). A Professor of International Relations, Adebayo formerly served as Director of Research at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Senior Research Fellow/Research Programme Coordinator at the Nordic Africa Institute in Sweden, and a senior staff member of the South Centre, Geneva. An author and member of Boards of several organizations, Prof. Olukoshi holds a PhD from the University of Leeds.
Chief Moshood Olatokunbo

Moshood Olatokunbo, a former staff of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), holds a Masters degree in Social Services from the University of Seattle. He is currently an Expert/Consultant on the Rehabilitation and Demobilization of Ex-child Soldiers with the Peace and Security Directorate of the African Union Commission, Addis Ababa Ethiopia. An important element of his work includes the provision of Skills Training opportunities for Demobilized Ex-Child Soldiers in the Great Lakes region, in collaboration with the National Commission on Disarmament, Demobilization, Repatriation and Reintegration (DDRR) of the concerned countries.

Mr. Ray Ekpu

Ray Ekpu is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Newswatch Communications Limited. Mr. Ekpu holds both a Bachelors and a Masters degree in Mass Communication from the University of Lagos and a Diploma in Advanced Journalism from Indiana University, USA. He was editor of The Nigerian Chronicle, Sunday Times, Business Times, as well as Chairman, Editorial Board of Concord before co-founding Newswatch where he was Editor-in-Chief for seven years. He was the international president of the 54-member-nation Commonwealth Journalists Association and was the President of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (2002-2007). He has global contacts and has visited over 60 countries. He has also won several national and international awards for excellence in journalism including the International Editor of the Year (1987) in the United States.

Mrs. Nkechi Ali-Balogun

Nkechi Ali-Balogun, a multifunctional player with immense management skills, is the current Chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Lagos State Chapter as well as the Principal Consultant, NECCI Consulting, a Public Relations and Training Consulting firm. A graduate of the University of Lagos, she also holds a postgraduate diploma in Marketing and an MBA in Management, both from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. In addition, Nkechi has attended Public Relations Management courses at the prestigious Frank Jefkins School of Public Relations, London and the Lagos Business School.

Barrister Frank Nabena

Barrister Nabena is currently Principal Partner FBA Nabena & Co., a legal firm specializing in civil and human rights activism. He is also the Ag. Executive Director of Community Rights Action and the Legal Adviser to DCI-Nigeria. A founding member of DCI-Nigeria, Frank is a member of the Nigeria Bar Association and the International Bar Association.

Mrs. Ini Onuk (Executive Director)

Ini Onuk is a Fellow on Democracy and Development at Stanford University California. Ini holds a degree in International Relations & Diplomacy and a Masters degree in Management. A Management Trainer, she is also an international consultant on Gender, Peace-building & Governance and a prolific speaker. A former consultant with the Women, Gender and Development Directorate of the African Union and the African Centre for Gender & Development within the UN Economic Commission for Africa, she has been instrumental in developing training tools that build the capacity of ordinary African women to lobby and advocate for equality. She is also a committed gender activist and a women leader who has engaged policymakers at all levels in her assiduous efforts to ensure that the rights of children and women are upheld. She sits on the Board of some non-governmental organisations.

Visit our Web Site :

http://www.dci-nig.org/index.php