A two-day peace summit and public hearing for Victims of Crime and Human Rights Violations in the South-East Nigeria, on Thursday kick-started in Awka, Anambra State Capital.
The event brought together legal practitioners, NGOs, media professionals, rights group, and other stakeholders in the security area, from all the five states of the Southeast including Anambra, Imo, Abia, Enugu and Ebonyi.
It was organized by the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) in partnership with Action Group on Free Civic Space (AGFCS).
The Hearing is aimed at providing opportunity for survivors and representatives of victims of insecurity/crime and human rights violations including representatives of communities and individuals affected by insecurity and abuse of law enforcement authority in the five states of the South-East, to testify and share their experiences.
It also provided the opportunity for stakeholders and media practitioners monitoring developments in the zone to also share their experiences and perspectives on how to address insecurity and reclaim the shrinking civic space in the South-East.
In a welcome remarks, the Executive Director of RULAAC, Okechukwu Nwanguma explained that the summit is convened for critical stakeholders to have some conversation about the unabated insecurity in the South-East, to gain deeper insight into the root of insecurity and the risk factors for its persistence, its dimensions and drivers and to jointly propose workable recommendations for ending insecurity and addressing human rights violations and shrinking civic space.
According to him, insecurity has had devastating impacts on socio-economic and political development, livelihoods, well-being and civic freedoms in the region.
According to him, the group intends to build evidence through the testimonies by victims and witnesses with which they can advocate and push for urgent action to pull the zone out of the quagmire.
“With the information and evidence from testimonies, we also intend to assist the the most vulnerable and most affected victims to seek legal redress.
“The testimonies and information from the Public Hearing will help to build evidence with which to engage relevant stakeholders and in particular, advocate for justice and accountability and an end to insecurity, human rights violations and constriction of the civic space by state and non-state actors,” he said.
According to the RULAAC boss, a Panel of eminent jurists, lawyers and human rights experts were assembled to hear the testimonies and recommend remedies for the victims and make other relevant recommendations.
“We are grateful to the panelists for honoring us with their esteemed presence.
“We also thank those who agreed to come forward to testify. We thank them for their courage and contributions to making sure that what has happened to them or their loved ones will never happens to anyone again.
“We plan, among other considerations, to file legal action against human rights violators in the South-East,” he revealed.
In a keynote speech, a human rights activist and lawyer,Prof Odinkalu Odinkalu observed that the challenge of crime and insecurity in the Southeast requires non-kinetic mechanisms to address them, expressing the hope that the public hearing is one of such mechanisms.
According to him, since the challenge is happening in the Southeast and the people suffering the insecurity are people of the Southeast, only the people of the Southeast can proffer the solution to the problem.
In a report, Chief Emeka Ononamadu, the immediate Past Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Imo State, regretted that the same peculiar circumstances that prevailed in the Northeast that paved way for the emergence of Boko Haram, is happening now in the Southeast.
“One of such circumstances included the sacking of the police and other security agents. This was something many of our applauded, obviously due to the hardship they suffer in the hands of the security operatives.
“Unfortunately, the sacking of these security agents paved way for these armed militia in the Southeast to begin to dominate.
“Again, a situation where a governor comes out after every attack on the people to defend the attacks. Always giving whatever is happening a political undertone.
“Also, the role of governors of the Southeast since 2019 that exacerbated the insecurity in the region and unfortunately, the only thing we have not done is to place blame where they should be,” he said
In their reports, a media professional from Anambra State, Kenechukwu Ofomah and another participant from Enugu State, cited issues of unknown gunmen, the sit-at-home, cultism, community leadership tussle, l and tussles, among others as some of the problems in their respective states.
