President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday appointed Fatima Waziri-Azi as the Director-General of the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).
Gatekeepers News reports that Waziri-Azi who replaces Basheer Mohammed, is a campaigner against domestic and sexual-based violence and an expert in the rule of law.
Below is everything you need to know about the new appointee;
Waziri-Azi is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA); Associate member Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK); Association of Women in Development (AWID); Women in International Security (WIIS) and International Scrabble Club (ISC).
She attended John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Boston – Massachusetts, U.S.A. and was awarded a Certificate of Completion for the Emerging Leader Program in June 2018.
Between 2008 – 2011, she attended the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Pennsylvania State, U.S.A, Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) for her Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.).
Earlier, she attended St Thomas University School of Law Miami, Florida State, U.S.A. for her Master in Law (LL.M.) (International Law and Human Rights) in 2007. Some of Waziri-Azi’s accomplishments during this period include; Award recipient of the Crouch – Kielsgard Scholarship of Intercultural Human; Rights Program; November 2006. Cash award of $3,000; third prize winner, Siegfried Wiessner Essay Award in February 25, 2007.Cash award $1,500; Member, Law review: 2006 – 2007; Paper presenter: Women Moving Forward. Coalition of human rights Organizations, Miami, Florida.
March 31st 2007; Resident Assistant, Fall – Spring Semester, Donahue Hall.
She was an Associate Member of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, U.K in 2004; Nigerian Law School, Lagos, Nigeria, Barrister at Law (B.L) in 2003 and got a Bachelor of Law (LL.B.) in 2001 at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.
The new NAPTIP DG in 2016 became the Research/ Program Officer of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Corruption (PACAC) (Secondment) where some of her duties include but not limited to: Development of anti-corruption data template in collaboration with UNODC; Strategy Session with judges on Asset Recovery and Money Laundering; Tracking of anti-corruption cases to review files for specific violations of ACJA 2015
based on court records and Development of Corruption Case Management Manual among others.
Waziri-Azi headed the Department of Public Law at the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies – Supreme Court Complex from November 2012 to Feb 2016. During this period, she was a Consultant at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC); a Graduate thesis supervisor; Member, Academic Committee (Nov 2012 – March 2016); Member, Academic Essay Competition Committee; and Chairperson, NIALS-CLE Online Committee (2015 – 2016).
Between 2008 and 2011, Waziri-Azi served as a Consultant at the Barinu Institute for Economic Development, Pittsburgh – Pennsylvania, where she undertook a variety of projects related to economic development, good governance, corruption, poverty elevation in Sub Sahara Africa.
As a Legal Fellow at the Transparency International USA, Washington D.C in 2019, she undertook a variety of projects directly related to the chapter’s anti-corruption agenda, including researching current legislation related to industry transparency and disclosure requirements, compiling best practices on compliance issues such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). She researched anti-corruption initiatives of multilateral institutions such as the World Bank and United Nation Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC); Conducted surveys of implementation of international anti-bribery standards (including the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) standards in domestic agencies and assisting in preparation for media interviews; assisted with domestic and international legal research relating to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the United Nation Convention against Corruption and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials.
Prior to that time, she was a Legal Associate at the New York City, Administration of Children Services, Division of Legal Services. Waziri-Azi was the Attorney/Senior Program Officer (Women’s Right, Electoral Issues and Justice Sector Reform Desk) at the Human Rights Law Service (HURILAWS)/Olisa Agbakoba Legal in Apapa – Lagos, Nigeria.
Some of her research at that time includes; general understudy of Nigeria’s gender issues and other related developmental issues as it affects women; Nigeria’s electoral system and
developed ways of improving the systems already in place.
The New NAPTIP DG was the Attorney/ Solicitor of Fred Isoh & Associate, Lagos, Nigeria between 2003 to 2004. She was a Legal Intern for the Nigerian Law School in Olisa Agbakoba Legal, Lagos, Nigeria.
Some of her Ad hoc work experience are; Editor–in–Chief: India Universal Multidisciplinary Research Institute Journal of International Human Rights Law; and Online Course Coordinator of Certificate Course in International Human Rights Law between 2015 – 2020.
Her publications include; • Regulatory & Legal Framework For Online Sports Betting In Nigeria: A Viable Alternative For Money Laundering. International Journal of International Law (IJOIL). Universal Multidisciplinary Research Institute, India (2015).
• Towards fast Tracking Justice Delivery in Economic and Financial Crimes Litigation in Nigeria: A Need for A Special Court. International Journal of International Law (IJOIL). Universal Multidisciplinary Research Institute, India (2014).
• An Analysis of Domestic Violence Against Women in the United State. Law of Domestic
Violence in Nigeria. Edited by Epiphany Azinge and Lillian Uche.( 2013).
An Overview of International Legal Framework for Combating Corruption: Corruption and
National Development. Edited by I.A. Abdulqadir, I.A. Yusuf, A. A. Oba, H.O. Ijaiya and A.O.
Amoloye – Adebayo (2013).
• Evolution of Anticorruption Agencies and Laws in Nigeria. Published by Lambert Academic
Publishing, Germany(2013).
• Freedom of Information Act 2011: Comparative Study with the United State’s Freedom of
Information Law: Freedom of Information Law and Regulation in Nigeria. Edited by Epiphany Azinge and Fatima Waziri – Azi (2012).
• An Evaluation of the Nigerian National Anti – Corruption Strategy. European Journal of
Research in Social Sciences Vol 5 No. 5, (2017).
• Facilitation Payment Under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of the United States and its Effect on Corruption in Nigeria. Net Journal of Social Sciences Vol. 3(4), (2015).
• Manual on Election Petitions in Nigeria (A tool kit for the legal community. (Revised Edition) – Funded by National Endowment for Democracy (NED) D.C. (2006).
• The Politics of Gender and Sexuality Prejudice Against Women in Nigeria: A Look at the
Nigerian Legal statues. International Journal of Legal Research. Damodaram Sanjivayya
National Law University, India (2014).
