Anambra State Governor, Charles Chukwuma Soludo has set up amnesty committee to grant state pardon to willing members of unknown gunmen gang suspected to be Biafra secessionist armed group causing civil disobedience, destruction of lives and properties in the state as a way to demand the unconditional release of the detained Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and declaration of Biafra Republic from Nigeria.

Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo in a public notice signed on Tuesday by the Secretary to the State Government, Solo Osita Chukwulobelu and made available today indicated that the amnesty committee have Professor Chidi Odinkalu as Chairman and the widow of the late Nigeria-Biafra civil war lord, Bianca Ojukwu as Secretary.

The Amnesty committee is given six months to complete their assignment.

The public notice as issued by the Anambra State Government reads thus:

Anambra State Government Sets Up a Truth, Justice and Peace Committee.

The members of the Committee are as follows:

Professor Chidi Odinkalu-Chairman
HE Amb. Bianca Ojukwu-Member / Secretary
Dr. Joe Nwaorgu
Dr. Udenta Udenta – Member
Dr. Uju Agomoh — Member
Rev. Fr (Msgnr) Jerome Madueke
Canon Dr. Okechukwu C. Obi-Okoye
Mr. Charles Oputa (Charly Boy)
Dr. John Otu
Mr. Ngozi Odumuko
Ms Onyeka Onwenu
Dr. Joe Abah
Mr. Chukwuma Okpalaezeukwu
Mr. Sam Egwuatu
Prof. Joseph Ikechebelu

The Purpose/Terms of Reference of the Committee;

The purpose of the Committee on Truth, Justice, and Peace is to seek a restorative justice approach for truth-telling or real facts, for the healing of the victims of the violence, accounting for responsibility and accountability of the actors, 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 the promotion of development in the State, and the region/Nigeria.

Given the cross-border nature of the conflict, the focus goes beyond Anambra, and possibly covers the entire Southeast.

Specifically, the Terms of Reference for the Committee are

To identify the remote and immediate causes of the agitations, restiveness, violence, and armed struggle in the South East since 1999.
Document victims/circumstances of death, brutality and incarceration.
Identify stakeholders and groups who have played critical roles in the agitations and conflicts, their roles, capabilities and demands.
Address any other issue(s) that may be germane to unravelling the extent of the crisis and charting the roadmap for the future.
Make recommendations for sustainable peace and security in Anambra state/Southeast.

The Committee shall have a direct reporting line to the Governor or his designee, and will be provided with administrative support. The Committee shall be free to draw up the methodology to accomplish its assignment.

Time Frame:

The Committee shall conclude its work no later than 6 months from its inauguration, with its preliminary report due no later than 2 months after the sunset and the final report after 2 months of receiving feedback on the preliminary report from the government. The Committee shall be inaugurated on a date to be communicated to its members.

Signed:

Prof. Solo Osita Chukwulobelu
Secretary to the State Government
Anambra State.
5th April, 2022.