The Truth, Justice and Peace Committee inaugurated in 2022 has concluded and submitted its report to the Anambra State government.

 

The Committee chaired by the former Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, Professor Chidi Odinkalu, submitted its report to Governor Chukwuma Soludo at the Government House, Awka.

The terms of reference of the committee was to identify the remote and immediate causes of the agitations, restiveness, violence and armed struggle in the South-East since 1999 and to document victims and circumstances of death, brutality and incarceration, identification of stakeholders and groups who have played critical roles in the agitations and conflicts, their roles, capabilities and demands.

 

Other terms of reference include addressing any other issues that may be germane to unravelling the extent of the crisis and charting the roadmap for the future and make recommendations for sustainable peace and security in Anambra State and the South-East region.

Presenting the report, Professor Odinkalu said that the Committee gathered four hundred and twenty-two evidences, interviewed one hundred and eighty-seven persons, thirty-six memoranda and had twenty-eight submissions from Traditional rulers, eighteen verbal submission, among others, and noted that the Commission discovered that land is central to understanding the crisis in Anambra state.

 

Among other recommendations, Professor Odinkalu recommended that closure be given to late Barr. Barnabas Igwe and wife who were killed some years ago and that reports sitting on shelves be acted upon.

Receiving the report, Governor Soludo stated that such a commission can be taken zone by zone in Nigeria if the country is serious about tackling insecurity, highlighting the existential nature of insecurity threat, and assured that every aspect of the recommendations within the State powers would be executed.

 

While presenting the document as the new framework for his administration to think on, Governor Soludo maintained that they will share aspects of the document with his colleagues in the South-East and the national security infrastructure for action.

Also speaking, the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Solo Chukwulobelu who recalled that in the past, the State was thrown into a period of agitation and violence and that the Committee was asked to come up with recommendations, said that the United Nations Development Partners, UNDP also contributed to the work at the inception, adding that upon submission of its interim report, they recommended for the establishment of a bureau of missing persons.

Recall that the announcement and subsequent inauguration of the committee was a follow-up to the outcome of the Peace Building and Security Dialogue which was convened by Governor Soludo at the Professor Dora Akunyili Women’s Development Center, Awka in 2022.

 

The committee was given a period of six months from its inauguration to present its preliminary report.

Last year, the Committee submitted its inception and diagnostic report, after which the Governor gave them a time extension for the submission of the final report.

The Head of Service, Barrister Theodora Igwegbe, other members of the Anambra Executive Council, the Secretary of the Committee, Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu and other members of the Commission were present at the event.

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