ANAMBRA ANNOUNCES MEMBERS OF PEACE COMMITTEE

REPORTER: ONYIYE CHIJIOBI

Anambra State Government has released the names of members of the Truth, Justice and Peace committee.

The Secretary to the State Government, Professor Solo Chukwulobelu, who made this known in a press briefing in Awka, said that the members of the committee would be inaugurated at a later date.

He said the Committee would be headed by Professor Chidi Odinkanlu.

Professor Chukwudebelu said the Committee would seek a restorative justice approach for truth telling or real facts, for healing of the victims of the violence.

Other terms of reference for the committee included accounting for responsibility and accountability of the actor, conditional mercy for the repentant perpetrators, restitution for certain losses and rehabilitation of the perpetrators for the overall aim of restoration of peace and justice as well as promotion of development in the state and the South East region.

The SSG explained that the terms of reference of the committee also included to identify the remote and immediate causes of the agitators, restiveness, violence and armed struggle in the South East since 1999, document victims and circumstances of death, brutality and incarceration.

He noted that the committee would have a direct reporting line to the Governor and would be provided with administrative support as well as be free to draw up the methodology to accomplish its assignment.

Professor Chukwudebelu stressed that the committee had only six months from inauguration to conclude its work with its preliminary report due no later than two months after the sunset and final report, after two months of receiving feedback on the preliminary report from government.

the Committee, which has Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu as Secretary also has other members.

They includ Dr. Joe Nwaorgu, Dr. Udenta Udenta, Dr. Uju Agomoh, Monsignor Jerome Madueke, Canon Okechukwu Obi-Okoye, Mr. Charles Oputa, Dr. John Otu, Mr. Ngozi Odumuko and Miss Onyeka Onwenu.