Staff profile

Dr Eghosa Ekhator


Associate Professor of International Environmental Law

Eghosa wearing a grey jumper

Subject

Law

College

College of Business, Law and Social Sciences

Department

Derby Law School

Research centre

Better Society, Social, Cultural and Legal Research Centre

ORCiD ID

0000-0003-3419-2680

Campus

One Friar Gate Square, Derby Campus

Email

e.ekhator@derby.ac.uk

About

I joined the University of Derby Law School in September 2019 from the University of Chester where I taught on numerous undergraduate and postgraduate modules. My main research areas are in international environmental law and natural resources governance. I received an LLB in Law from the University of Benin, Nigeria and an LLM and PhD in Law from the University of Hull. I have also been called to the Nigerian Bar as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

I am also the Co-Lead, International, Environmental, and Human Rights Law Research Cluster at the University of Derby Law School.

I am currently an Associate Professor of International Environmental Law.

Research interests

I am an expert on environmental rights/justice issues in developing countries (including Nigeria and the African Union). I have expertise in the following areas:

My present research focuses on:

Recent publications

Membership of professional bodies

Professional interests

I am the Chair, International Law Association (ILA -Nigerian Branch) Teaching International Law and SDGs Committee and a member of the exco of ILA Nigeria.

I am currently supervising PhD students in energy justice, climate litigation and international human rights law. 

I have experience in management of research grants (external and internal). I am currently the Principal Investigator/Research Lead - UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Research Grant - Research Networking Grant 'Business and Human Rights Scholarship: Developing networks and perspectives from the Global South' (£30,000).

Qualifications

Recent conferences

Experience in industry

I regularly get invited to give talks at workshops and conferences inside and outside the UK. I have also been called to the Nigerian Bar as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. In the past, I have practised as a lawyer and legal consultant in Nigeria.

In the media

My academic papers have been cited by a plethora of organisations and international agencies including the United Nations Refugee Agency and the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) ‘Responses to Information Requests (RIR) report (NGA106371.E) on Nigeria’ amongst others.

I have provided expert advice to African Governments and policymakers under the auspices of the African Commission Working Group on Rights of Older Persons and People with Disabilities in collaboration with the University of Pretoria, South Africa. This was during the one-day consultation Meeting on the ratification of the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention) and the Protocols to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Older Persons and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Africa which took place on 23 June 2022.

Our (Dr Eghosa Ekhator and Dr Doyin Babajide) written evidence to the United Kingdom Parliament's International Trade Committee's inquiry was cited in a letter sent to Kemi Badenoch, the Secretary of State for International Trade of United Kingdom by the Committee on 7 November 2022.

Dr Eghosa Ekhator and Dr Doyin Babajide written evidence to the United Kingdom Parliament's International Trade Committee's inquiry, UK trade approach towards developing countries has been accepted and published on the committee’s website - UK trade approach towards developing countries - Committees - UK Parliament March 2022.

Eghosa O. Ekhator ‘Real World Change: When Academic Research Informs Policy’ published by the University Policy Engagement Network (UPEN) 17 June 2022 UPEN - Blogs.

I was interviewed and cited by Taylor and Francis Publishing Group in a report titled ‘How can policy makers be globally inclusive when it comes to sustainability? 11 experts weigh in’ (November 2022). How Can Policy Makers be Globally Inclusive When it Comes to Sustainability? (taylorandfrancis.com)

International experience

Teaching responsibilities

Additional interests and activities

Reviewer roles

Funding

Member of FACE’s Academic Advisory Group. The Forever Africa Conference and Events (FACE) is a Pan-African initiative brought together by staff and students at the University of Bristol. It has a goal-oriented, interdisciplinary, cross-sector, intergenerational, intercommunity, and intercontinental vision to dialogue for the purpose of bringing change to the Pan-African community through knowledge cooperation.

Coordinator External Collaboration and Engagement - African Natural Resources and Energy Law Network (ANRELN).