Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Nigeria’s one-time Permanent Representative to the United Nations has passed away at the age of 79.

‎According to reports confirmed by a top diplomat who spoke with Daily Sun, news of her death was relayed from New York, United States. The former diplomat, who also served as Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), was said to have died after battling a cancer-related illness.

‎Reacting to the development, Nigeria’s former Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Usman Sarki, said:

‎“Today, we received the sad news of the passing away of the Permanent Representative (former), Professor Joy Ogwu. It is very sad. She was a very fine woman; she represented Nigeria to the best of her ability under very difficult circumstances,” Sarki said.

‎Sarki, who served as her deputy during her tenure at the United Nations, added that she was “a very decent human being.”

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