Meet Dr Orji, Igbo man from Ebonyi, Africa’s youngest expert in Cyber Security, Telecom Law
An Ebonyi man, from Ishiagu, Ivo LGA of Ebonyi State, Dr Uchenna Jerome Orji, is a Lawyer and Researcher with interests in the legal aspects of Cybersecurity governance, data protection, and telecommunications regulation.
He obtained his primary and secondary education from the Ikwuano Primary School, Mgbom Okposi; Federal Government College, Okposi (in Ohaozara LGA of Ebonyi State) respectively.
He bagged an LL.B Honors degree from the University of Nigeria, an LLM degree from the University of Ibadan, with Distinction and specialisation in cybersecurity law, and a PhD from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nigeria, with Distinction and specialisation in telecommunications law. He is the author of Cybersecurity Law and Regulation (Wolf Legal Publishers: The Netherlands, 2012), Telecommunications Law and Regulation in Nigeria (Cambridge Scholars Publishing: Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, 2018), and International Telecommunications Law and Policy (Cambridge Scholars Publishing: Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, 2018), in addition to more than 60 peer-reviewed papers on cybersecurity law, data protection law, telecommunications law and other aspects of law.
Having bagged his PhD at the age of 31, Orji is one of the youngest persons in Africa with a PhD in law and also the youngest African expert of international repute in cybersecurity and telecommunications law.
He was the recipient of a national award (the Dangote Prize) for the best overall essay in the fourth edition of the Nigerian Ships & Ports National Essay Competition (2010). He is interested in building capacity of students in telecommunications, cybercrime, and data protection law at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The above aspects of law have not been optimally developed academically in the sub-region, and there are no universities in West Africa that offer them as full module courses. It is imperative that the above areas of law are developed as courses in universities due to the continuous integration of digital communication technologies into every aspect of life in the 21st Century.
Orji is passionate about enhancing the academic and research profile of the Faculty of Law of any African university he may choose to work with. He looks forward to bringing additional value to the education system by setting up the 1st Center for Legal and Policy Research on Information Communications Technology in the West Africa sub-region. When established, the center shall serve as a center of excellence for promoting and disseminating researches on laws, regulations and policies relating to cybersecurity and information communications technology. It will certainly be of immense benefit to the academia in terms of attracting local and international attention, as well as scholars.
Orji has also been a speaker at several high-level international conferences including, the Hague Global Conference on Cyber Space; the NATO CCD COE’s International Conference on Cyber Conflict; and, the Asian Security Conference. He is currently an Asst. Professor of Law at the American University of Nigeria, Yola, Adamawa State of Nigeria.
