# Funke Adeoye

Funke Adeoye is a Nigerianinternational human rights lawyer, social entrepreneur, Young Global Leader, and founder of Hope Behind Bars Africa.
Funke established Nigeria's first social enterprise focused on reducing recidivism by providing vocational and educational skills to women and young people in prisons. She was the first Waislitz Award winner on criminal justice issues

## Early life

Funke Adeoye was born in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and grew up in Lagos. She obtained an LLB from the University of Benin (Nigeria) and an MSc in International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford. Additionally, she completed an Executive Certificate in Civic Engagement from the University of Georgia and a Certificate in Non-profit Leadership from the Lagos Business School's Sustainability Centre.

## Career

Funke is the founder of Hope Behind Bars Africa, a social impact organisation working to close the justice gap in Nigeria using legal aid, evidence-based advocacy, data, and technology. Over 7,000+ justice-involved individuals have benefited directly from her interventions.
She started as a legal associate at Olumide Sofowora SAN Chambers before moving into the social impact sector.
In 2018, she established Hope Behind Bars Africa, an organization that collaborates with stakeholders to promote human rights in Nigeria's criminal justice system.
In 2020, with support from the German government, she produced reusable facemasks distributed for free to prison inmates and 11 low-income communities in Nigeria’s capital.
Funke was listed by The Attic London as one of the lawyers changing the world, and she delivered papers across local and international fora, including a panel session with President Róbert Ragnar Spanó, President of the European Court of Human Rights, at One Young World Manchester.
In 2021, she engaged the Upper Chamber of Nigeria’s parliament on the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020, legislation that could negatively impact the civic space.
In 2023, she formed part of a select 700 participants drawn throughout Africa into the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, an initiative by President Barack Obama and the US Department of State.
In 2024, Funke championed the release of 38 minors unjustly arrested and incarcerated by the Nigerian government for 95 days.
Funke has led interventions on grassroots advocacy across Sub-Saharan Africa and saved hundreds of indigent pre-trial detainees.
On August 28, 2024, she shared a story on her social media platform X (formerly Twitter) involving Nicholas Peter, a 26-year-old photographer who was arrested and imprisoned for over 10 months for resigning from his job through ‘an insulting text and After her tweets, she was summoned by Nigeria Police Force for defamation of character, conspiracy, and cyberbullying” over her post on X concerning the detention.

## Awards and recognition

She is an Ashoka Fellow, a 2023 Global Citizen Waistliz Prize Awardee, an Acumen Fellow, a 2019 LEAP Africa Social Innovation Fellow, a 2022 CivicHive fellow, and a One Young World Ambassador. She is also a (TFAA ) Future Africa Finalist for Advocacy and a 100 Leading Ladies Africa Honoree.