Betty Abah

Betty Abah (born March 6, 1974) is a Nigerian journalist, author and a women and children's rights activist. She is the Founder and Executive director of CEE HOPE, a girl-child rights and development non-profit organization based in Lagos State

Early life and education Abah was born in Otukpo, Benue State which is in the Middle Belt region of Nigeria. She obtained a first degree in English and literary studies from the University of Calabar in 1999 and a master's degree in English literature from the University of Lagos in 2012.

She worked with Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, where she led the women’s campaign desk and coordinated projects focused on women’s environmental rights throughout the Niger Delta and the African sub-region. Abah’s work in journalism and her subsequent activism have earned her several local and international awards. She is the author of Sound of Broken Chains, Go Tell Our King and Mother of Multitudes. Abah worked with Environmental Rights Action; Friends of the Earth Nigeria before establishing CEE-HOPE in December 2013.

Activism Abah has been involved in protesting several cases of human rights violations. Some of them include campaigns for the release of the Chibok girls abducted by the Boko Haram terrorist in North East Nigeria, campaigns for the environmental rights of Niger Delta women, the case of the torture involving three women in Ejigbo, Lagos by members of a vigilante group, the case of the kidnapping of Ese Oruru among others.

Over the years, she has dedicated herself to several social justice causes, notably #BringBackOurGirls, Ese Oruru, #JusticeForEjigbo3, and #JusticeForOchanya. In October 2019, she edited a book documenting the unprecedented campaign surrounding Ochanya Ogbanje. Her work in engaging and developing thousands of young people in informal communities, particularly in Makoko, a well-known fishing community in Lagos, has been featured in numerous local and international media reports and documentaries. Additionally, CEE-HOPE has expanded its operations to Ogun, Plateau, Kaduna, Ebonyi, Benue, and other states.

Awards, recognitions and fellowships Awards received by Betty Abah, Year Class Category Awarding body 2001 State honours Community service National Youth Service Corps Nigeria 2003 Reporter of the Year JournalismNational Media Merit Awards Nigeria 2006 Fellowinternships Alfred Friendly Press Fellowships, USA 2006 Fellow Journalism The Knight Journalism Press Fellowship, USA 2006 Fellow Journalism The Kaiser Family HIV/AIDS Fellowship, USA 2008 Child-Friendly Reporter of the Year Journalism Media Excellence 2010 Participation Leadership Program Global Tobacco Control Leadership Program, Johns Hopkins University, USA. 2012 Honorary mention Poetry Prize Association of Nigerian Authors 2014 Honorary Mention Journalism Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting 2016 Print Journalist of the Year Journalism Nigeria Media Merit Award. 2019Visiting Fellowship Human Rights Human Rights Defenders Fellowship, University of York, England.