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By Madu Obi
Governor Chukwuma Soludo has promised that his administration would implement fully the report of the Anambra Truth, Peace and Justice Commission submitted to him by the Professor Chidi Odinkalu -led commission.
Soludo set up the Commission at the early stage of his administration when the issue of insecurity took the center stage in Anambra State.
Speaking when he received the final report of the Commission, established to investigate the remote and immediate causes of insecurity in the state and by extension, the South East region, the governor believed that the report would serve as a framework for addressing security challenges in the South East.
He commended members of the Commission for their dedication in carrying out the historic assignment.
Soludo expressed concern about the impact of crime and violence on young people, describing their deaths as a waste when their camps had to be invaded.
According to him, based on the Commission's recommendations, he would swiftly outline plans to dissolve his cabinet into subcommittees to analyze and implement the recommendations.
The governor emphasized the need for collaboration with federal agencies, regional governments, security services, including the State Vigilante Group, and the local communities, stating his plans to share the report with national security agencies and work with neighboring states to address the cross-border nature of criminal activities.
He also reiterated his commitment towards achieving sustainable peace in the region, assuring the people that a safer future would be assured if the recommendations are well implemented.
He stressed the importance of community and religious involvement in tackling the challenges, describing the necessary approach as a crusade requiring collective action.
In his speech, the chairman of the Commission, Professor Odinkalu, thanked the governor for entrusting them with the task.
Odinkalu, who was the former Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, noted that the biggest structural factor in violence in the country is the political economy and not the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB or the Eastern Security Network, ESN.
Giving details of the work done, Odinkalu said the Commission surveyed 66 communities in the state, documented cases of traditional rulers, security agents, presidents-general (PGs), and community members who have disappeared and remain missing.
He urged the media to de-emphasize the use of the term "unknown gunmen," even as he called for the development of a 25-year security strategy to reform community governance and establish an agency for the protection of victims and accountability for violence.
Secretary of the Commission, Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu and representatives of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) attended the ceremony at the Government House, Awka.
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