By Ndahi Marama, Maiduguri
The Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of The Consortium Basic Rights Watch, a non-governmental organization, NGO, based in Abuja, Mr. Austin Ekwujuru, has appealed to the Borno State government, under the leadership of Governor Babagana Zulum, to consider Transitional Justice Mechanism in the post-insurgency era as a pathway to sustainable peace and development in the state.
Ekwunuru also called on the Borno State government to consider Transitional Justice, TJ, as crucial panacea for the promotion of human rights and justice, peace and security, good governance and development in any society.
Addressing journalists on Wednesday in Maiduguri at a press briefing, Mr. Ekwujuru noted that TJ consists of judicial and non-judicial measures implemented in order to redress legacies of human rights abuses, and such measures could include truth commissions, reparation programs and various kinds of institutional reforms amongst others.
He explained that “the Consortium for Basic Rights Watch, BRW, is urging the Borno State government to consider TJ mechanism in the post-insurgency era as a pathway to sustainable peace and development in the state.”
He siad ”The steady decline in Boko Haram attacks in North-East Nigeria, particularly Borno State, indicates that the country is gradually moving towards the post-insurgency era, hence the urgent need to find pathways to lasting peace and development for the affected populace.
”As such, there is no better approach than the deployment of a robust TJ mechanism to ensure sustainable pathways to peace, healing, accountability, and development.”
TJ is informed by a society’s desire to rebuild social trust, repair a fractured justice system and ensure accountability after a prolonged conflict.
He added, “Likewise, TJ has recently received greater attention by both academics and policymakers. It has also generated interest in the fields of political and legal discourse. In periods of political transitions, from authoritarian, dictatorial regimes or from civil conflicts to democracy.
“In Nigeria, after the transition process from military regime to a democratic regime, a Truth and Reconciliation Panel was set up, called the Oputa panel.
“Therefore, there is need for TJ mechanisms aimed at healing, accountability, reconciliation and forgiveness. The concept of TJ is therefore a necessary step in moving from a divided and painful past to a commonly shared and developed future.”
Beside, Ekwujuru further noted that the core values of TJ include, but are not limited to: acknowledgement of responsibility and the suffering of victims; showing remorse; asking for forgiveness; and paying compensation or making reparation and reconciliation.
He added, “Notably, the concerted efforts of the government to tackle insurgency, especially in Borno State, is yielding the desired results as noted in the de-escalation of violence.
”However, the human rights violations that trailed the operations of the insurgents and the counter-insurgency made the young people to be targets of harassments, torture and brutality and these have left an indelible mark on their psyche and ignited a mood to seek justice as a critical pathway for sustainable peace.
”It’s on this premise that we are organizing this press briefing to advise the state government to take deliberate measures towards establishing a Truth Commission that will drive the TJ in Borno State.”
