Dr. Valerie Azinge was born into a family in Ukehe near Nsukka in Enugu North/Nsukka Senatorial Zone of Enugu State. A graduate of the University of Jos, she was admitted to the Nigerian Bar in 1981. Dr. Azinge has an LL.M. from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and took her Ph.D in law from the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma in 1990. She is a former Commissioner and member of the Governing Council of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and was the first Special Rapporteur on Summary, Arbitrary and Extrajudicial Executions in Nigeria.