Nigerian human rights defender to speak in Zwolle

On Monday 14 May, Windesheim Honours College students will be hosting an event in Zwolle’s Lübeckplein. The event will focus on the story of the Nigerian human rights defender Justus.

The event takes place from 12:00 until 14:00 pm and is part of the Shelter City Bike Challenge: a 7-day bicycle tour of all eleven Shelter Cities in the Netherlands to raise funds for the protection of human rights defenders. The tour starts in Groningen on Monday 14 May and the cyclists will arrive in Zwolle around noon.

Police brutality

Justus from Nigeria will be a speaker at the Lübeckplein event. He works as an executive director of the International Human Rights and Equity Defense Foundation (I-REF). Justus, who is also a human rights lawyer, tries to facilitate citizens’ access to the justice system and public liability by offering free legal services and advice. He represents the interests of victims of police brutality and their families. This is why Justus himself has been threatened and attacked by police and security services in Nigeria.

With its study programme of Global Project and Change Management, Windesheim Honours College (WHC) caters for students seeking to make a difference in society. That’s why WHC is affiliated with Shelter City and organizes events in Zwolle to raise awareness of human rights.

Shelter City Bike Challenge

Zwolle is one of the Netherlands’ eleven Shelter Cities, together with Amsterdam, The Hague, Deventer, Groningen, Haarlem, Maastricht, Middelburg, Nijmegen, Tilburg and Utrecht. With its cycling tour of these eleven cities, covering a distance of 780 km in just seven days, Shelter City hopes to raise a sum of € 25,000 for the protection of human rights defenders.

Read more about this tour(opens in new tab)