The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime is deeply shocked and saddened by the sudden passing of Innocent Chukwuma, the renowned civil society leader and Chair of the Advisory Council of the GI-TOC Resilience Fund.

Innocent was a longstanding champion of civil rights and civil society and dedicated his life to advocating for justice and public safety, and to serving the non-profit sector in West Africa.  At the GI-TOC we benefitted from his time and commitment as the inaugural Chair of the Resilience Fund Advisory Council, a position he assumed on the launch of the Resilience Fund in May 2019. He led an Advisory Council mission to South Africa in February 2020, where he met and shared his insights with Fund beneficiaries from all over Africa.

GI-TOC Director Mark Shaw said:

“I have known and collaborated with Innocent since the 1990s, and I know that few have done more to champion civil society’s role in achieving peaceful societies and justice on the African continent.  He was a decent, principled and talented man, and his presence and advocacy will be sorely missed in West Africa and beyond.  We were honoured that he served as Advisory Council Chair, and we hope that through the work of the Resilience Fund, we can play our part in ensuring that his legacy lives on.”