Posted by By Eromosele Ebhomele on
Fiery human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, has won this year's Bernard Simons Memorial Award of the International Bar Association.
Fiery human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, has won this year's Bernard Simons Memorial Award of the International Bar Association.
Falana, who is also the President of the West African Bar Association, will be officially honoured with the prestigious award when lawyers converge on 15 October, for the 2008 IBA conference holding an Buenos Aires, Argentina.
A letter signed by the chairman of the award committee which was sent to the recipient said he was being honoured for his, 'substantial contribution to the promotion, protection and advancement of human rights in Nigeria."
According to the letter dated 9 July, the award is presented biennially to any lawyer who has made an outstanding contribution in the field of human rights. The outspoken lawyer has received several awards in the past. These include the Adopted Prisoner of Conscience Award of the Amnesty International in 1996 and the International Human Rights Award by the American Bar Association, also in 1996.