Professor Oladejo Olowu

ORCID ID

Prof. Olowu is a distinguished scholar of Public Law and Legal Philosophy at Walter Sisulu, Mthatha. A product of legal education across Africa, Europe, and the United States. He brings extensive academic, professional, and international experience to his work in law, teaching and research.

He began his academic career in October 1997 as a Junior Trainee Fellow (Assistant Lecturer) at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, having already been in active legal practice since his admission to the Nigerian Bar in 1992. Over the years, he has taught international law and related disciplines at universities across Africa, Europe, and Oceania, establishing himself as a globally engaged academic.

Professor Olowu holds a JSD (cum laude) from the University of Notre Dame (USA), a Graduate Diploma in International Human Rights from Åbo Akademi University (Finland), an LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa from the University of Pretoria (South Africa), as well as an LLM and LLB (Honours) from Obafemi Awolowo University (Nigeria).

He is a recognised and accomplished researcher, having earned the ‘Established Researcher’ status from the National Research Foundation (South Africa), with a C3 rating (2009–2014) and later a C1 rating (2015–2020). He has authored over 100 scholarly publications across reputable legal and interdisciplinary platforms globally, contributing significantly to scholarship in international law and related fields.

In addition to his academic contributions, Professor Olowu has held several influential leadership and advisory roles. He served as a Ministerial Adviser to the South African Law Reform Commission (Project 25: Minerals and Energy Affairs), chaired the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)’s Peer Review Panel for Scholarly Journals in Law and Related Fields, and was the pioneer Professor and Dean of the School of Law at the American University of Nigeria (2015–2018). He has also contributed as a resource person to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Experts Working Group on Counterterrorism.

He is a member of several professional and intellectual bodies and a Fellow of the Salzburg Global Seminars, reflecting his standing in the global academic community.

Professor Olowu’s core research interests include international law, legal philosophy, comparative constitutionalism, and development, with a strong focus on human rights, governance, and global justice. His inaugural lecture, titled “Liberty, Dignity and Security: Sifting the Matrix of Humanity,” was delivered at North-West University, South Africa, in August 2012.

He teaches modules such as Public International Law, Jurisprudence, Human Rights, and Introduction to Law, contributing to both undergraduate and postgraduate legal education.

Beyond academia, his personal interests include writing, sports, and music.