By Eke Ojim
Consent has been given by the Anambra State Executive Council (ANSEC) for the creation of a Bureau for Missing Persons in the Ministry of Justice.
The establishment of the Bureau is part of the interim recommendation earlier made by the Truth, Justice and Peace Commission (TJPC) in its Inception Report earlier submitted to Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo (CFR), Governor of Anambra State, on the 17th of February 2023.
The job of the Bureau is to trace cases of missing persons and come up with the needed database to support Police investigations and the eventual prosecution of suspects by the Ministry of Justice.
Recall that on the 23rd of June 2022, Governor Soludo, pursuant to the Commission of Inquiry Law of Anambra State, inaugurated the Truth, Justice, and Peace Commission which has Professor Chidi Anselm Odinkalu as the chairman, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu as the secretary and Professor Sylvia Chike Ifemeje as one of its Commissioners.
According to a statement signed by the State’s Commissioner for Information, Sir Paul Nwosu, the Commission’s Inception Report also recommended the following: 1. A whole-of-government strategy that locates atrocity violence within a public health framework.
2. Professionalization and effective coordination of vigilante services in the state. 3. Institutionalizing deliverables for the Ministry of Security and Homeland Affairs. 4. Establishing an Anambra Integrated Civic Surveillance System (ANICSS) and 5.
Establishing an Anambra State Safety and Environmental Commission (ASSEC)
TJPC’s initial terms of reference are: To identify the remote and immediate causes of the agitations, restiveness, violence, and armed struggle in the Southeast since 1999; To document victims/circumstances of death, brutality, and incarceration as well as identify stakeholders and groups who have played critical roles in agitations and conflicts, their roles, capabilities, and demands.
Lastly, the Commission is expected to address any other issue(s) that may be germane to unravel the extent of the crisis and chart the roadmap for the future and make recommendations for sustainable peace and security in Anambra State/Southeast.
