Udo Jude Ilo
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Udo Jude Ilo | |
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| Born | 12 December, 1978 |
| Alma mater | Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Sacred Heart Seminary, Central European University |
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| Partner(s) | Nkem Ilo |
| Children | 4 |
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| Awards | Yale Fellow, Eisenhower Fellowship, Draper Hills Fellow |
Udo Jude Ilo is a Nigerian lawyer, policy advocate, and civil society leader. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL). Ilo is widely recognized for his work on democracy, accountability, justice-sector reform, and civic engagement in West Africa.
He has served as the Head Of Nigerian Office of the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), and later as Interim Executive Director at the Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC), where he led global strategy on civilian protection. Over the course of his career, he has also advised major international institutions including the Ford Foundation, the African Union, and the Open Government Partnership, and has contributed to high-level dialogues hosted by the World Bank and other multilateral bodies
In 2024 he authored the book It is imPOSSIBLE: Influencing Change in Nigeria
Early Life
Udo Jude Ilo was born in Ozalla, Enugu State, Nigeria, and hails from Achi, Oji River Local Government Area to a teacher and a trader: Igwe Vincent Ilo and Lolo Roseline Ilo,
Personal life
Ilo is married to Nkem Ilo. The couple has Four daughters, one of whom, Natasha, passed away. Her life and legacy inspired his book Kasie and the founding of the Natasha Ilo Foundation, a social-impact organization that supports community empowerment and healing through service.
Education
He attended Sacred Heart Seminary in Nsude and St. John Cross Seminary in Nsukka for his secondary education. Ilo earned his law degree from the Enugu State University of Science and Technology, and was called to Bar in 2003. In 2005, he received a scholarship to study International Human Rights Law at the Central European University in Budapest, Hungary.
Career
Udo Jude Ilo has led multiple influential organizations focused on governance, civic engagement, and justice reform across West Africa and globally. At the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), he spent over a decade directing programs on democratic accountability, civic space, and media freedom. In 2006, he founded Thoughts and Mace Advisory (T&M), a policy and third-sector consulting firm that has since grown into a key institution supporting civil society through advocacy, research, and capacity-building. He later joined the Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC), where he served as Senior Director for Advocacy and was appointed Interim Executive Director in 2023, overseeing global strategy and partnerships on civilian protection and peacebuilding. In December 2024, Ilo was named Chief Executive Officer of the Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL), becoming the first African to lead the organization and expanding its work in people-centered justice innovation across the continent.
Writing and publications
Ilo is the author of:
- It is imPOSSIBLE: Influencing Change in Nigeria (2024), a book on civic transformation and change theory in Nigeria
- Kasie (2021), a poetry collection written in memory of his late daughter, Natasha
In addition to these books, Ilo has written over 60 opinion essays on governance, elections, civic space, gender-based violence, and policy reform, published in Premium Times, Huffington Post, Al jazeera, and other major outlets.
Some notable pieces include:
- Liberal democracy is in crisis, does it need rethinking? (2023, with Ayisha Osori)
- World leaders’ responses to conflict imperil the rules-based world order (2024, Agnes Callamard)
- The Deadliest Conflict You’ve Never Heard of (2019, with Ier Jonathan-Ichaver, and 'Yemi Adamolekun)
- Denise McNair’s Shoe (2016)
- Civil Society in Nigeria: Staying True to Our Mission (2016)
Awards and affiliations
- Yale World Fellow (2021)
- Eisenhower Fellowship
- Draper Hills Fellow on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, Stanford University
References
External links
This article "Udo Jude Ilo" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles taken from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be accessed on Wikipedia's Draft Namespace.