Beatrice Jedy-Agba is a Nigerian lawyer and anti-human trafficking advocate. She is the first Nigerian to be honored by the U.S. Department of State with the Trafficking in Persons Heroes Award 2014.[1][2] She was Director-General of National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) between 2011 and 2016.[3][4]

Beatrice Jedy-Agba
Director of Planning, Research and Statistics at Federal Ministry of Justice
Assumed office
2016
PresidentMuhammadu Buhari
Director-General at National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons
In office
2011–2016
PresidentGoodluck Jonathan
Preceded byChuzi Egede
Succeeded byAbdulrazak Dangiri
Personal details
BornLagos
Edo State, Nigeria
Alma materFederal Government Girls College Bida, Bendel State University

Family

edit

Jedy-Agba was born to the family of Dr.& Mrs. Eigbefoh; and the second child and first daughter to the family of 6 children.[5] She hails from Edo State, Nigeria.

Early life and education

edit

She attended Bola Memorial Primary School Ikeja between 1975 and 1980 and Federal Government Girls College Bida, Niger State between 1980 and 1985.[6] The young Beatrice had a passion to stand for the rights of those who are abused, and this made her to be interested in law.

She holds a bachelor's degree in law from Bendel State University, now known as Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma in 1989, from where she attended the Nigerian Law School, Lagos and was subsequently called to Bar in 1990. She did her mandatory National Youth Service Corps at the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).[7]

Career

edit

She began her career at the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in 1992, an agency where she did her mandatory NYSC. In 2004 she transferred her service to the Federal Ministry of Justice where she served as Chief State Counsel in the International and Comparative Law Department and as Legal Adviser to National Boundary Commission.[8] She was subsequently appointed Special Assistant[9] to Mohammed Bello Adoke, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice. Her commitment and passion led to her appointment by President Goodluck Jonathan, as the Executive Secretary of National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).

Following the amendment of the NAPTIP Act, her designation was changed to Director-General, which made her the first female Director-General of the agency.[10] She is currently the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics at Federal Ministry of Justice.[11]

In 2022, she was appointed as the solicitor-general of federation by President Muhammadu Buhari.[12][13]

Achievements

edit

Beatrice Jedy-Agba made a tremendous impact while at National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons(NAPTIP). She:

  • Restructured NAPTIP[14] to be among the top performing anti-human trafficking agency in the world.
  • Strengthened inter-agency collaboration on the issue of trafficking in persons
  • Increased awareness nationally on the scourge of human trafficking
  • Strengthened partnership/cooperation with international organizations including United Nations and European Union.
  • Strengthened institutional framework for combating Human trafficking in Nigeria
  • Developed a strategic plan for the agency and improved
  • Developed a National Referral Mechanism (NRM) on human trafficking[15]

These earned her 2014 Trafficking in Persons Hero Award by U.S Department of State.[16] She was described by John Kerry as a courageous Nigerian woman who has devoted her lives work to combating human trafficking.[17]

Awards

edit
  • Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON)
  • Presidential Commendation on the work on improving anti-trafficking in Nigeria
  • 2014 Trafficking in Persons Hero[18]

References

edit
  1. ^ "2014 TIP Report Heroes". U.S. Department of State. U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  2. ^ "Beatrice Jedy-Agba - U.S. Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report Heroes". www.tipheroes.org. TIP Heroues. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  3. ^ Igoh, Lawrenta (14 May 2016). "True African Gems: Celebrating Mrs Beatrice Ejodamen Jedy-Agba's Strides in Eradicating Human Trafficking in Nigeria". Edufrica. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  4. ^ "NAPTIP DG calls for closer collaboration among LEAs". www.unodc.org. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  5. ^ Maduka, Godsmercy (18 December 2016). "Beatrice JedyAgba: Past and Present Work - Writing.Com". writing.com. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  6. ^ Maduka, Godsmercy (18 December 2016). "Beatrice JedyAgba: Past and Present Work - Writing.Com". writing.com. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  7. ^ "ABOUT THE RISING PROFILE OF BEATRICE JEDY AGBA - CALABAR BLOG". CALABAR BLOG. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  8. ^ Writer, Guest (14 May 2016). "True African Gems: Celebrating Mrs Beatrice Ejodamen Jedy-Agba's Strides in Eradicating Human Trafficking in Nigeria". Edufrica. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  9. ^ Writer, Guest (14 May 2016). "True African Gems: Celebrating Mrs Beatrice Ejodamen Jedy-Agba's Strides in Eradicating Human Trafficking in Nigeria". Edufrica. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  10. ^ "First Female Director-General of NAPTIP - Writing.Com". writing.com. 18 December 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  11. ^ Godsmercy, Maduka (18 December 2016). "Beatrice JedyAgba: Past and Present Work". writing.com. writing. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  12. ^ "Buhari appoints Beatrice Jedy-Agba as solicitor-general of the federation". TheCable. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  13. ^ "Buhari Appoints Beatrice Jedy-Agba As Solicitor-general Of The Federation - Grassroot Reporters | Nigeria's No. 1 Online Newspaper". www.grassrootreportersng.com. Archived from the original on 29 March 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  14. ^ "Beatrice Jedy-Agba: A 2014 Trafficking in Persons Report Hero". ONE. One. 15 September 2014. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  15. ^ "First Female Director-General of NAPTIP - Writing.Com". writing.com. 18 December 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  16. ^ Maduka, Godsmercy (18 December 2016). "First Female Director-General of NAPTIP - Writing.Com". writing.com. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  17. ^ "Nigeria National Day Message". U.S. Department of State. U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  18. ^ "U.S. Human Trafficking". Youtube. 23 June 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
edit
  NODES
INTERN 2
Note 1