LLB, BL, LLM(Taxation & Telecommunication), Msc. Management ADIT, MCIArb Barrister and Solicitor of the Superior Court of Judicature of Sierra Leone Notary Public & Commissioner for Oaths

Abdul Tejan-Cole was Executive Director of the African Studies Association, Senior Campaign Director at Waxman Strategies/Mighty Earth, head of the Anti-Corruption Commission of Sierra Leone, Deputy Director of the International Center for Transitional Justice’s Cape Town o ce, and Executive Director of the Open Society Initiative for West Africa.

A noted human rights lawyer and activist, he has over 25 years of experience fomenting progressive development of human rights, good governance, anti-corruption, environmental and social justice, postcon ict reconstruction, transitional justice and the rule of law. He has also focused on ending deforestation in Africa across all industrial agriculture, ghting for the rights of workers and communities, prosecuting several high-level corruption cases, and prioritizing ghting corruption.

He has been on the board of several organizations that work on a broad range of issues, including land tenure, land grabbing and food security and climate change. He was the Board Chair of West Africa Democracy Radio and Timap for Justice, a non-pro t that provides free paralegal services to people in Sierra Leone.

He taught land law and the environment at the University of Sierra Leone and holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) Degree from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, a Master of Laws from University College London and a post-graduate diploma in International Trade Law from the University Institute of European Studies. He was a Human Rights Teaching Fellow at Columbia University in New York, is a Yale World Fellow, was a recipient of the 2001 Human Rights Watch Annual Award and is a member of the Africa Group for Justice and Accountability. He has published widely on human rights and international justice issues.

Abdul played cricket at school, university and at the national level and sponsored a junior cricket team in Sierra Leone.