A two-day intensive practitioners’ certification course on Business and Human Rights, has been concluded in Abuja with 118 participants drawn from 11 African countries and representatives from Belgium and the Netherlands in attendance.

Organized by African Continental Centre for Business and Human Rights (ACCBHR), in partnership with Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), and the Abuja chamber of Commerce (ACCI), the event marked the first professionally accredited BHR certification course to be delivered in West Africa.

According to Sir Agadaidu C. Jideani, ACCI Director General, the course was structured around the three pillars of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), Protect, Respect, and Remedy; and combined high-level theoretical grounding with practical, Africa-specific implementation tools.

Participants who were mainly from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, and Côte d’Ivoire, included legal practitioners, in-house counsel, compliance and sustainability officers from extractive and financial-sector companies, senior government regulators, members of national human rights institutions, the UNDP and civil society specialists.

The event opened on the first day with a keynote address by the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Dr. Tonny Ojukwu, SAN and a welcome address by the President of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce/Leader of the Organized Private Sector in the Nigerian Capital-Abuja, Chief Emeka Obegolu, SAN.

The two speakers identified the need for strengthening the intersection between ethical business conduct and respect for human rights. They underscored the growing convergence between mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence (mHREDD) regimes and emerging African frameworks.

Barrister Chris Ugwuala delivered the foundational session, tracing the evolution of the BHR field from the 1970s draft UN Code of Conduct through to the 2011 UNGPs and subsequent National Action Plans (NAPs). Particular emphasis was placed on Nigeria’s 2022–2026 National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights, one of the most advanced in Africa, and its alignment with the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

Mrs. Pwamdundi Oko, subject matter expert and desk officer Business and Human Rights at the National Human rights Commission of Nigeria (NHRC) provided a detailed dissection of the Nigerian NAP’s four thematic pillars and cross-cutting obligations, candidly addressing implementation gaps, resource constraints, and the absence of binding legislative backing to date. Her session triggered robust discussion on the role of national human rights institutions as NAP coordinators in resource-constrained environments.

The afternoon concluded with a highly interactive skills-building workshop led by ACCI Director General, himself, a Human Rights Governance, Risk and Compliance Specialist. Participants worked in sectoral groups (extractives, agribusiness, finance, and manufacturing) to map salient human rights risks and design basic human rights due diligence processes using open-source tools adapted to low-capacity settings. Sir Agabaidu led the participants through the establishment and operationalization of a Business and Human Rights Compliance and Implementation Program.

Day 2 of the event opened with a sharp focus on the often-neglected third pillar with Hauwa Kaka Usman, Registrar-General of the Nigeria Chamber of Commerce Dispute Resolution Centre (NCCDRC), presenting a groundbreaking proposal for the NCCDRC to be formally recognised as a non-judicial grievance mechanism under Pillar III of the UNGPs.

Participants engaged in a mock mediation of a community–investor land-rights dispute, demonstrating the practical viability of industry-led remedial ecosystems.

Oyetola Muyiwa Atoyebi SAN delivered a masterclass on climate change litigation and corporate climate accountability, analysing landmark tort-based cases, and recent South African proceedings, alongside the accelerating wave of greenwashing and climate-washing claims. The session explored how African jurisdictions might adapt these precedents in the absence of dedicated climate statutes.

Professor Ibe Ifeakandu of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced legal Studies, examined modern slavery and forced labour risks in African supply chains, drawing on recent UK and Australian Modern Slavery Act reporting data involving Nigerian and Ghanaian exporters. The presentation concluded with practical guidance on conducting heightened due diligence in tier-2 and tier-3 supplier relationships.

The final substantive session, led by environmental rights specialist Mr. Napoleon Eyenaba of the UNDP, mapped the fast-evolving HREDD landscape: the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), the proposed ECOWAS Directive, South Africa’s emerging companies’ amendment bill, and ongoing legislative discussions in Kenya and Nigeria. Participants received comparative compliance checklists and transition timelines.

Participants were later divided into three working groups for practical exercises on the three pillars of Business and Human Rights and scenario-based exercises. A certification Exam and practical exercises have been shared with the participants to complete at home in an open book manner before certification certificates would be issued by the organizers to the successful candidates.

In his closing remarks, ACCI boss, Sir Agabaidu Jideani, announced that the organizers will work together to integrate successful participants into a national BHR practitioners’ roster to support NAP implementation monitoring and multi-stakeholder advisory processes.

The Abuja certification course arrives at a pivotal moment: African states and companies face simultaneous pressure from incoming European due diligence laws, rising investor ESG expectations, and an expanding domestic litigation risk environment. By creating a cohort of certified African practitioners conversant with both global standards and local realities, the ACCBHR, NHRC and the ACCI, have laid critical groundwork for contextualised, effective implementation of the UNGPs across the continent.

The Centre has confirmed that the programme will be rolled out in East Africa (Nairobi) and Southern Africa (Johannesburg) in 2026, with advanced modules on supply-chain due diligence and climate-related human rights impacts already in development.

As mandatory HREDD moves from Brussels to African statute books, initiatives such as this signal that the continent is not merely reacting to global norms but is actively shaping competent, home-grown responses, led by the Nigerian National Human Rights Commission.