From Isaac Ojo
Anambra State Executive Council (ANSEC) has approved the creation of a Bureau for Missing Persons in the Ministry of Justice.
The establishment of the Bureau is part of the interim recommendation made by the Truth, Justice and Peace Commission (TJPC) in its Inception Report submitted to Gov Charles Soludo recently.
The job of the Bureau according to Anambra State Commissioner for Information, Paul Nwosu is to trace cases of missing persons and coming up with the needed database to support Police investigations and eventual prosecution of suspects by the Ministry of Justice.
Recall that on the 23rd of June 2022, Gov Soludo, pursuant to the Commission of Inquiry Law of Anambra State, inaugurated the Truth, Justice and Peace Commission which has Prof Chidi Anselm Odinkalu as the Chairman, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu as the Secretary and Prof Sylvia Chike Ifemeje as one of its Commissioners.
The Commission’s Inception Report also recommended the following:
A whole-of-government strategy that locates atrocity violence within a public health framework, professionalization and effective coordination of vigilante services in the state, institutionalizing deliverables for the Ministry of Security and Homeland Affairsand establishing an Anambra Integrated Civic Surveillance System (ANICSS).
It also called for the establishment of 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.
The Commission is also expected to address any other issue(s) 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/Southeast.
