[PHOTOS] Dr. Adekunle Adebowale Emerges Kwara CDHR Chairman At 2025 Annual State Convention, Election

The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), Kwara State chapter, earlier today elected Dr. Adekunle Adebowale (JP) as its new Chairman at the 2025 Annual State Convention and Election held at the NLC Secretariat Hall, Ilorin, the state capital.

Adebowale, a retired Director of Education and respected public intellectual, emerged alongside a new set of executives that will steer the affairs of the rights group in Kwara. Others elected include Yusuf Musa Olohundare (Vice Chairman), Kemi Tina Omiyale (Treasurer), Adeyemi Julius Ogunwuyi (Internal Auditor), Taofik Adekunle Jimoh (Publicity Secretary), Olasunkanmi Dauda Iwaloye (State Secretary), Sulaiman Tawakalitu (Assistant Secretary), and Ridwan Musa, Esq. (Legal Adviser).

Born on April 30, 1959, in Moya, Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State, Adebowale boasts a distinguished career spanning education, academia, and public service. He retired as Director at the Kwara State Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM), where he was credited with mentoring generations of teachers and influencing education policy.

A holder of a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Lagos, Adebowale is also a part-time lecturer at the Kwara State Colleges of Education in Ilorin and Lafiagi. Beyond the classroom, he is a regular newspaper columnist and an active member of the media industry.

The convention, which had as its theme “Security Agencies and Public Relations: Human Rights Perspective”, drew representatives of labour unions, security agencies, civil society groups, and the media.

Director-General of the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS), Comrade Issa Aremu, in his goodwill message, praised CDHR for sustaining the struggle for justice since its establishment in 1989. He noted that while security agencies remain indispensable in safeguarding lives and property, their legitimacy can only be sustained when they operate with fairness and respect for human rights.

“Security without rights is oppression; human rights without security is an illusion,” Aremu said, urging stronger collaboration between civil society and law enforcement.

Also, the Chief Executive Officer of D-Positive Global Image Services Consult, Mallam Nasir Abdulquadri, stressed that public trust in security agencies must be rebuilt through transparency, accountability, and empathy. He advocated the establishment of human rights desks in every security formation across the country.

In his farewell remarks, outgoing Kwara CDHR Chairman, Comrade Afolabi Lukman, recounted the chapter’s human rights interventions in the past four years, including support for victims of gender-based violence and collaboration with law enforcement agencies in criminal investigations.

The event was graced by senior representatives of key institutions, including ACP Onyeabo Oseloka, who represented the Commissioner of Police, Kwara State; CSP Andrew Akoja, representing the Commander of the EFCC, Kwara State; Kenneth Odill, Deputy Commander of the NDLEA, Kwara State; Dr. Mohammed K. Hamzat (CSP), who stood in for the NSCDC Commander, Kwara State; Mallam Abdulganiy Dare, Director of the National Orientation Agency, Kwara State; and CSP Phillips Olumide Adegbelugbe, Public Relations Officer of the Correctional Service, representing the State Controller.

Also in attendance were representatives of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), civil society leaders, media executives, and pioneer leaders of the CDHR in the state.

With his emergence, stakeholders say Adebowale brings to CDHR a blend of scholarship, activism, and moral authority that could further entrench the group’s relevance in the state’s civic space.