Long before his name echoed through the halls of Oxford or featured in conversations at the United Nations, Dapo Akande was a young law graduate from Ibadan, driven by an uncommon curiosity for how international rules shape global justice. Today, that journey has positioned him among the most respected public international law scholars in the world and earned him recognition by the United Kingdom as one of its finest legal minds.
The UK has formally nominated the Nigerian-born professor for election to the International Law Commission (ILC), a powerful United Nations body responsible for shaping and codifying international law. The nomination places Prof. Akande at the centre of global legal thought, where treaties, state responsibility, war crimes, and international accountability are debated and refined.
For Britain’s top diplomatic leadership, the choice was clear as Professor Akande’s career spans more than two decades of scholarship, courtroom advocacy, and advisory work across continents, a profile that reflects both intellectual depth and real-world impact.
Currently a Professor of Public International Law at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, Prof. Akande has built a reputation that cuts across academia and practice. His research which comprises of over sixty major publications, is widely cited in legal debates on armed conflict, human rights, international courts, and the powers of states under international law. His influence extends further through his roles on editorial and advisory boards of leading law journals across Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
Prof. Akande’s work is not only confined to lecture halls or journals as he has served as consultant and adviser to some of the world’s most consequential institutions, including the United Nations, the African Union, NATO, the International Criminal Court, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the Commonwealth Secretariat.
In courtrooms that shape global precedents, he has appeared in matters before the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the World Trade Organization, the European Court of Human Rights, and the ICC.
What makes his story particularly compelling is how deeply rooted it remains in Nigeria.
Prof. Akande earned his law degree at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, before beginning his professional journey as a research assistant to Bola Ajibola, former Attorney-General of Nigeria. That early grounding in Nigerian legal thought would later inform his international work , especially in matters involving justice, accountability, and state responsibility.
Beyond representing states and institutions at the highest global forums, Prof. Akande has also contributed directly to strengthening Nigeria’s legal and justice systems. He has led specialised training for the Federal Director of Public Prosecution and the Nigerian Army, focusing on accountability, international crimes, and the intersection of domestic and international law.
His nomination to the International Law Commission is more than personal recognition; it is yet another reminder of the depth of Nigerian expertise shaping global systems, often quietly, but decisively. In a world where international law increasingly defines responses to conflict, climate change, trade disputes, and human rights, voices like Prof. Akande’s matter.
From Ibadan to Oxford lecture halls, and from Nigerian courtrooms to the chambers of The Hague, Professor Dapo Akande’s journey reflects a broader Nigerian truth: excellence travels and when it does, it carries home with it.
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