Conference Organizing Committee

Professor Engobo Emeseh

Engobo is a Professor of Energy and Environmental Law, and the Head of School, Department of Law and Criminology, Aberyswyth University. Engobo is an active researcher, with an international reputation, in environmental law and policy broadly defined, particularly within the context of the regulation and governance of the extractives industry in Africa. She was a member of the Bayelsa State Oil and Environment Commission, which produced a report in 2023 titled An Environmental Genocide: The Human and Environmental cost of Big Oil in Bayelsa, Nigeria. Currently, she is a member of the international working group on Petroleum Pollution and Just Transition in the Niger Delta, Nigeria (IWG).

Pedi Obani, PhD

Pedi is an Associate Professor of Law at the Department of Law, School of Law and Social Sciences, University of Bradford and a UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Future Leaders Fellow She is an expert in climate change governance, just transition, gender equality and the human rights to water and sanitation. She currently runs Gender Inclusive Climate Change Governance (GenCGov) – a research initiative which seeks to promote gender-responsive climate governance bridging the gap between policy, research and action. She is also a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA).

Dakota Ward

Dakota J. Ward holds a PhD in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Huddersfield, an MSc in Investigative and Forensic Psychology from the University of Liverpool, and a BA in Clinical and Counseling Psychology from Alfred University. Recently, Dr Ward completed the Charles E. Scheidt Fellowship with the Institute of Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention at Binghamton University and earned a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching in Higher Education from Aberystwyth University—where he serves in the Department of Law and Criminology. For research, Dr Ward has led and assisted with numerous projects, including with partners in local, national and international law enforcement. In 2025, Dr Ward founded the Research Centre for the Prevention of Exploitation, Atrocities, Corruption and Extremism (PEACE Research Group), which strives to promote efforts aimed at examining and opposing the misuse, abuse and manipulation of people, power, positions and platforms.

Ovo Imoedemhe, PhD

Ovo is an Assistant Professor of Law, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), Academic Lead for the Human Rights, Inclusion and Justice (HRIJ) Research Cluster and Liaison Lead at the Department of Law, School of Law and Social Sciences University of Bradford. Ovo is an expert in International Criminal Law (ICL), a member of the Africa Union Law Research Network and African Society of International Law. Her research areas include legal, institutional frameworks and policy-oriented perspectives in evaluating international criminal justice, international humanitarian and human rights law, including enforcement procedures, institutional capacity, compliance, and practical enforcement of international legal norms, particularly in African contexts.

Email: o.c.imoedemhe@bradford.ac.uk

Irekpitan Okukpon, PhD

Ire is an Assistant Professor and Academic Lead, Environment, Sustainability and Research (ESR) Research Cluster at the Department of Law, School of Law and Social Sciences, University of Bradford. She is an expert in wider international environmental law, sustainable development, inclusive waste governance and business and human rights. She currently serves as Academic Advisor to the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC), a founding member of the International Law Association Nigeria – Women in International Law and Development (ILA-WIELD), and is a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy.

Email: i.okukpon@bradfordac.uk

Erebi Ndoni, PhD

Erebi Ndoni is a Lecturer at the Department of Law, School of Law and Social Sciences, University of Bradford. She is a multi-disciplinary researcher with more than a decade of teaching, research and practice at the crossroads of oil and gas/energy law, international trade, gender, inclusion and sustainable development. She is a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy and is one of the coordinators of International Research Collaborative (IRC) 20 of the Law and Society Association. Her professional affiliations include the African International Economic Lawyers Network and the Society of International Economic Lawyers (SIEL).

Email: e.d.ndoni@bradford.ac.uk

Stephani Diri, PhD

Dr Stephanie Diri is a Lecturer in Law at Arden University with research interests in corporate accountability, and transnational litigation. She holds a PhD in Law and is particularly interested in the evolving legal frameworks governing multinational corporations.

Email: sdiri@arden.ac.uk

 

 

For enquiries, please contact: Engobo Emeseh & Irekpitan Okukpon.