Dr. Ayodele Sogunro is a lawyer, scholar-activist and writer with over twelve years of field, courtroom, and project experience covering legal practice, research, and advocacy. His work deals with the protection of the rights of marginalised groups in Africa, with a focus on the rights of sexual and gender minorities particularly through law and strategic litigation.

He has an LL.B from the University of Lagos and was admitted to the Nigerian Bar in 2008. He also has an LL.M in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa and an LL.D in Sexual and Reproductive Rights, both from the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria. He was formerly Senior Legal Advisor at The Initiative for Equal Rights before joining the Centre for Human Rights (CHR) as a doctoral candidate and, currently, as a postdoctoral fellow.

In addition to working with ISLA, he has worked on a number of human rights advisory and research work for organisations such as Amnesty International, the International Commission of Jurists, Network of African National Human Rights Institutions, Synergia-Initiatives for Human Rights, and Hivos. His publications include: ‘Citizenship in the Shadows: Insights on Queer Advocacy in Nigeria’ (College Literature, 2018); ‘A Guide for African National Human Rights Institutions for Implementing Resolution 275 in Africa’ (NANHRI 2020); ‘Application of Resolution 275 by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights: A Six-Year Assessment’  (Synergia-AMSHeR, 2020); ‘Conversion Therapy: Current Practices, Emerging Technology, and the Protection of LGBTQ+ Rights in Africa’ (CHR, 2021); and ‘Looking through the prism: Narratives of queer dignity in South Africa’ (PULP, 2021).

Dr. Ayo also contributes to Nigerian socio-political commentary and human rights advocacy through community educational events. His books include the short stories: The Wonderful Life of Senator Boniface and other Sorry Tales and the collection of essays: Everything in Nigeria is Going to Kill You. His literary essay, ‘One more nation bound in freedom: Themes from the Nigerian “anti-gay” law’ was shortlisted for the 2016 Gerald Kraak Award for African Writing.