Nigerian academic and lawyer Dapo Akande receives honorary doctorate for his leadership in international law

Nigerian academic and lawyer Dapo Akande, currently serving as a member of the United Nations International Law Commission alongside being Chichele Professor of Public International Law at the University of Oxford, has this week been named as one of several leaders in their fields who will receive honorary degrees as part of Durham University’s summer Congregation ceremonies across 2-9 July, 2025.

Professor Akande, a law graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University in Osun, Nigeria who has gone on to become a world-renowned expert and leader in the field of international law, will receive an honorary doctorate in Civil Law.

“Outside of higher education, his influence in the field of international law has been wide reaching, including advisory work for governments from all across the world and international legal organisations,” says Durham University. “He is a member of the United Nations International Law Commission which is responsible for promoting the codification and progressive development of international law.”

Akande and his fellow honorees are exceptional individuals whose achievements have had a profound impact in their fields and beyond, said Professor Karen O’Brien, Vice-Chancellor of Durham University. Acclaimed actors Mark Gatiss (co-creator of BBC’s Sherlock) and BAFTA winner Gina McKee (Notting Hill, Atonement), pioneering broadcasters David Shukman and Lorraine Heggessey, (Dato’) Faiz Azim, Executive Chairman of the Securities Commission Malaysia, and charity campaigner Becky Rogerson will also receive honorary degrees next month at Durham Cathedral. 

“They reflect the values we hold dear as a University: excellence, creativity, integrity and making a positive difference in the world,” says Vice-Chancellor O’Brien. “As our students graduate and begin the next chapter of their journeys, they can look to these distinguished figures as role models and draw encouragement from the diverse paths they have forged.”

Speaking with Africa Legal ahead of his election to the International Law Commission by the UN General Assembly, Professor Akande - the first person ever nominated by countries from four separate regions - revealed it was during his early school days in Nigeria that his interest in international law was first sparked. “Even when I was a child, I was more interested in international affairs than domestic affairs. When I looked at newspapers I would start at the place everyone should – with the sports pages – then I’d go to the middle and read the foreign news section.”

His parents also had the BBC news service on all the time, fuelling Akande’s interest in what was going on in the rest of the world. Studying law related to international affairs seemed a natural extension of his childhood interests in foreign relations, history, and geography, he told Africa Legal. 

Along with the honorary Doctor of Civil Law to be presented at 11am on 9 July at Durham Cathedral, Professor Akande has also recently been put forward by the United Kingdom as its candidate for election as a judge to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for the term 2027 to 2036. That election will take place next year.