Louisa Ntaji leads strategic, litigation-anchored advocacy to strengthen engagement with Africa’s regional human rights mechanisms. With a strong background in the operational procedures of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), she focuses on advancing the implementation of decisions and expanding protections for vulnerable groups.

Prior to joining IHRDA, Louisa served as a Legal Fellow with the International Justice Program at The Advocates for Human Rights in Minnesota, United States. In this role, she conducted legal research and drafted submissions to United Nations human rights mechanisms, addressing issues including the abolition of the death penalty, LGBTQI+ rights, reproductive health, and the rights of foreign nationals.

Her expertise is grounded in direct institutional experience, having served as a Legal Researcher and Legal Assistant at the African Commission for Human and People’s Rights Secretariat. She supported several special mechanisms of the Commission and contributed to the drafting of decisions on communications, urgent appeal letters, resolutions, and reports. She also played a key role in the organization of Ordinary and Extraordinary Sessions of the Commission.

Louisa holds an LL.M. in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa from the University of Pretoria and an LL.M. from the University of Minnesota Law School, with a focus on Reproductive Rights and Justice. She has contributed to thought pieces to the Population Connection blog (The Overlooked Climate Solution: Population Stabilization, July 2025) and the Global Campus for Human Rights Preparedness blog (Mitigating the Impact of COVID-19 on HIV Responses in Africa 15 July 2021).

She is a Barrister and Solicitor of the Nigerian Bar and holds an LL.B. from the University of The Gambia.