Nigeria’s Olukemi Ibikunle wins 2025 UN Trailblazer Award for Women Justice and Corrections Officers

The United Nations Department of Peace Operations has announced that Olukemi Ibikunle, a corrections officer from Nigeria serving with the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), has won the third United Nations Trailblazer Award for Women Justice and Corrections Officers.

The award was presented on Wednesday, 8 October at UNHQ in New York by the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General. Speakers will also include Ms. Margaret Satterthwaite, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Ms. Amy Jarrette, Deputy Commissioner for Women of Correctional Service Canada, as well as representatives from permanent missions of Member States.

As the MONUSCO Corrections Unit Engineer, Officer Olukemi Ibikunle brings her technical expertise to a traditionally male-dominated field, leading transformative prison infrastructure and rehabilitation projects that align with international standards and strengthen national institutions. Believing that “peace begins behind prison walls”, her work focuses on reshaping prison strategies to promote safety, dignity and rehabilitation.

Sharing her thoughts on the award, Officer Olukemi Ibikunle said “More than an award, this moment represents visibility and recognition of the countless women and girls whose voices are often silenced and whose dreams are constrained by societal expectations”.

Olukemi Ibikunle first served with MONUSCO between 2020 and 2022, redeploying to the Mission again in 2023. Her most impactful achievements include the development of an advanced security prison block in Kabare for high-risk detainees, including members of armed group, as well as the development of a model prison blueprint for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, guiding efforts to standardize prison design and improve detention conditions across the country. She also spearheaded the Biogas initiative at Uvira Prison which converted waste into clean energy, improving living conditions and promoting environmental sustainability while providing detainees with vocational training.

The Trailblazer Award is an initiative established in 2022 by the Justice and Corrections Service of the Office for the Rule of Law and Security Institutions. It recognizes the outstanding contribution of women justice and corrections officers deployed as government-provided personnel to United Nations peace operations and challenges gender stereotypes and gender-related barriers by showcasing their achievements.

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