Chioma is a Legal Officer with Media Rights Agenda (MRA), a non-governmental organization based in Nigeria, which works to promote and defend freedom of expression, access to information, and digital and Internet rights. She is also a Partner in FOI Attorneys, a law firm established by MRA to carry out its freedom of expression and freedom of information (FOI) litigation. Chioma has worked extensively on FOI research, capacity building, advocacy, and campaigns. She is part of the team of experts currently developing the FOI Civil Procedural Rules for High Courts in Nigeria. Through legal research, Chioma assisted in developing the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms, which outlines a number of principles to guide Internet policies and legislation across Africa, and is presently advocating for its acceptance as a reference document. She is also part of a group of specialists reviewing the Declaration on Principles of Freedom of Expression with the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa. Through MRA, she is involved in the campaign to pass the Digital Rights and Freedom Bill into law in Nigeria. Chioma participated in the Gender and Internet Governance Exchange (GigX) program organized by African Union and the Association for Progressive Communications at Ethiopia to build the relationship between gender, women’s rights, and internet governance. Finally, Chioma is also a part of the FOI litigation-working group for Africa Freedom of Information Center (AFIC).
Host Organization: Internews
Role at Internews: Chioma will serve as the Internet Policy Fellow: contributing to country and issue-specific assessments and cooperating with Internews’ Digital Rights team to identify and analyze relevant digital rights policies in countries where they currently work.