Conference Speakers

Professor Damilola S Olawuyi SAN

Professor Damilola S Olawuyi SAN is an international lawyer, Professor of Law, and policy adviser specialising in business and human rights, energy, natural resources, and environmental law. He serves as UNESCO Chairholder on Environmental Law and Sustainable Development at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar, as well as the Director of the Institute for Oil, Gas, Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development (OGEES Institute) at Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria.

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, he has advised on major energy and infrastructure projects globally. A senior counsel at McNair International Law Firm, he sits on the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights, and serves on several committees and boards including the African Development Bank, International Law Association, International Bar Association and the Association of Environmental Law Lecturers in Middle East and North African Universities (ASSELLMU). His award-winning book Environmental Law in Arab States earned recognition from the American Society of International Law (ASIL) in 2023.

Professor Olawuyi holds a doctorate (DPhil) in energy and environmental law from the University of Oxford; a Master of Laws (LLM) from Harvard University; and another LLM from the University of Calgary. He has been admitted as Barrister and Solicitor in Alberta, Canada; Ontario, Canada; and Nigeria.

Further information about his profile and publications can be found at: www.damilolaolawuyi.com

 

Daniel Leader 

Dan Leader, partner international human rights, business human rights and corporate accountability lawyer, specialises in international human rights and environmental law, with a particular focus on business and human rights. He has extensive experience of cases against parent companies, complex group actions and mass tort claims, as well as cross-border disputes and jurisdictional issues. Dan has a longstanding interest in public policy in business and human rights and was external expert member of the UK Government Steering Board which oversees the implementation of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (2014-17). Since 2018 he has been a Board Member of the Corporate Responsibility Coalition (CORE).

He is a member of the Steering Committee of the comparative law project on civil liability for human rights violations at the Bonavero Institute, Oxford University and a member of the Advisory Board of the British Institute for International and Comparative Law’s Human Rights Due Diligence Forum. He writes and speaks widely about business and human rights issues at conferences and universities in Britain and internationally.   

Dan was educated at Oxford University where he obtained a first class degree, and has an LLM (distinction) in international law from UCL. He has extensive experience in Africa and has lived in Kenya and Congo (DRC) where he worked with local lawyers on strategic litigation and access to justice issues. In 2001 he was awarded the Bar Council’s Sydney Elland Goldsmith award for his pro bono work in Africa.   

 

Professor Anna Zalik

Anna Zalik is Professor in Global Geography & Environmental Studies at York University, Canada, with areas of specialisation in global political economy and ecology, particularly with relation to industrial extraction. Dr. Zalik has undertaken longstanding research on the onshore and offshore oil industry particularly in Canada, Mexico and Nigeria and, on mining in the deep seabed beyond state jurisdiction, the zone referred to as the Area under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.  Dr. Zalik holds a Masters and PhD from Cornell University and a combined honours in History and Political Science from the University of Alberta, Canada. She was a Ciriacy Wantrup Postdoctoral Fellow in Natural Resources and Political Economy at the University of California at Berkeley.

 

Dr. Emomotimi John Agama

Dr. Emomotimi John Agama is the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Nigeria, the apex regulator of the Nigerian capital market. With over three decades of experience in capital market regulation, finance, and economic policy, he has built a distinguished career driving market reforms, institutional development, and regulatory innovation.

Before his appointment as Director-General in April 2024, he served as Managing Director of the Nigerian Capital Market Institute (NCMI), where he led major capacity-building and market education initiatives across Nigeria and Africa. Since joining the SEC in 2004, he has held several strategic leadership positions, including Head of Market Infrastructure and Innovation and Head of Registration and Exchanges.

Dr. Agama has played a key role in modernising Nigeria’s capital market framework, particularly in areas relating to digital assets, investor protection, sustainable finance, and market integrity. He currently serves as Vice Chairman of IOSCO’s Africa/Middle East Regional Committee (AMERC) and Chairman of the West Africa Securities Regulators Association (WASRA), contributing to regional and global regulatory cooperation and capital market development.

 

Professor Anna Mdee

Anna Mdee is Professor in the Politics of Global Development at the University of Leeds.  She publishes widely on the governance of water, sanitation and livelihoods.  An anthropologist by background with thirty years of experience in Tanzania, she now specialises in interdisciplinary socio-technical studies of development and climate 'solutions' across many contexts.

 

Mr Olanrewaju Suraju

Olanrewaju Suraju is a leading human rights advocate, social activist and governance expert and Chairman of the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) Resource Centre, a Nigeria based NGO and the Civil Society Network Against Corruption.

Mr Suraju has dedicated over two decades to advancing good governance, environmental accountability and citizen participation across Africa. His impact was recently recognised with the 2025 Global Environmental and Climate Justice Award, reflecting his passion for the promotion of environmental justice and accountability in Africa.

Mr Suraju serves on the Board of several Civil Society Organisations, Networks and Coalitions in Nigeria and across Africa. He has also worked as consultant and board member to several development agencies, international NGOs, law enforcement agencies and inter-governmental agencies.

 

Dr Babatunde Ajayi

Dr Babatunde Ajayi is currently the General Manager at the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA). He is an astute and result-driven Environmental Health Physician with extensive experience and training in Environmental Health, project financing, systems efficiency, disaster epidemiology and research. A public health fellow of Erasmus Mundus, Dr Babatunde Ajayi obtained his Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) degree from the Lagos State University before proceeding to the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium where he obtained a master’s in public health in disasters, and subsequently a master’s in business administration at Warwick Business School.

As General Manager at LASEPA, he has led the charge on environmental protection with priorities in Noise pollution control, Green House Gas emissions documentation, green energy transition in fish processing and bakery industries, industrial effluent control and strengthening chemical handling regulations for Lagos State.  

 

Dr Emem Okon

With 28+ years of experience in the non-profit sector, Dr. Emem Okon is a renowned advocate for gender equality and environmental justice.

Holding a PhD in Gender and Development Studies, she has led grassroots campaigns and empowered community women in the Niger Delta. She has key expertise in Feminist Participatory Action Research (FPAR), Gender Analysis, Training and Facilitation, Climate Change as well as Women Peace and Security Issues. She is the Founder & Executive Director, Kebetakche Women Development & Resource Centre and the Director, of the Leadership School in Port Harcourt.

She is the Board Chair of WoMIN African Alliance and has been the Alternate Governing Council Member, Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP, 2016-2025). She is a Fellow & Teacher at the Centre for Conflict and Gender Studies, University of Port Harcourt. She has the Convener, Niger Delta Women’s Day of Action for Environmental Justice (2016-present) and has hosted the African Women Climate Assembly in Nigeria consecutively between 2022-2025.

 

Vanessa Gray

Vanessa Gray is an Anishinaabe Kwe environmental advocate, land defender, educator, and grassroots organizer from Aamjiwnaang First Nation, a community located within Canada's "Chemical Valley" near Sarnia. She is widely recognized for her work on environmental justice, Indigenous sovereignty, and the health impacts of industrial pollution on First Nations communities. She began organizing as a teenager, founding the Aamjiwnaang Green Teens in 2009 to raise environmental awareness among youth in her community. She has since become an internationally recognized speaker, drawing attention to the effects of petrochemical development on Indigenous lands, water, and public health.

She is a co-founder of Aamjiwnaang & Sarnia Against Pipelines (ASAP) and is known for leading Toxic Tours through Chemical Valley, educating visitors about the concentration of petrochemical facilities surrounding Aamjiwnaang and their impacts on residents. Her advocacy combines Indigenous knowledge, community organizing, environmental research, and direct action. Vanessa co-leads the Environmental Data Justice Lab at the University of Toronto, where she works to decolonize environmental justice research and promote Indigenous data sovereignty by connecting academic research with traditional teachings.

Within Aamjiwnaang, she also serves on the community's Environment Committee, reflecting her ongoing role in local environmental stewardship and governance. Throughout her career, Vanessa Gray has become one of Canada's leading Indigenous voices on environmental justice, advocating for clean air, clean water, Indigenous rights, and accountability for industrial pollution while supporting community-led solutions to environmental challenges.

 

Confirmed Profiles to follow:

Kathryn Nwanjiaku-Dahou

Dr Isaac ‘Asume’ Osuoka