Borno State Government Unveils Transitional Justice Framework, Establishes Peace and Reconciliation Committees In LGAs

Borno State Government Unveils Transitional Justice Framework, Establishes Peace and Reconciliation Committees In LGAs

The Borno State Government, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has commenced a three-day workshop for Peace Reconciliation and Monitoring Committees (PRM) from six Local Government Areas affected by insurgency.

The Commissioner for Information and Internal Security, Professor Usman A. Tar, on behalf of the BOSG, presented the Terms of Reference for the committees at the event held at the Musa Usman Secretariat in Maiduguri. He outlined the committees’ purpose, principles, and functions, emphasising their role in fostering peace and reconciliation across conflict-affected communities.

Representing the Executive Governor, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, the Secretary to the State Government, Mallam Bukar Tijani, extolled the virtues of traditional rulers, community leaders, and community-based organisations as harbingers of reconciliation and sustainable peacebuilding in their base communities.

Representing the Ministry of Justice, Barrister Falmata Harun highlighted the significance of prosecution and accountability as key strategies for implementing transitional justice. While she acknowledged challenges such as insufficient evidence, she pointed to the successes of the Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) program. The program provides repentant insurgents with vocational training, psychosocial support, and religious counselling to ease their reintegration into society.

Representing the Honourable Commissioner of Women Affairs and Social Development, the Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Mohammed Hamza, explained the role of the Ministry and other MDAs working in collaboration to manage the existing insurgents for rehabilitation and reintegration into their original communities.

The workshop also spotlighted victim support programs under the Ministry of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement. These initiatives focus on compensation, resettlement, and fostering community dialogue to address the grievances of affected populations.

Goodwill messages were delivered by His Royal Highness, the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Dr. Abubakar Ibn Umar Garbai Al-Amin El-Kanemi. The Shehu of Borno noted that Borno has survived major historic turbulence in the past, and that the people of Borno are good-nurtured and ready to let go of the pains they endured as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency. HRH further emphasised that the traditional rulers and community leaders who are organically embedded in their communities, are the best people to bring about reconciliation. HRH, therefore, welcomed the Transitional Justice framework unveiled by the Borno State Government. Similarly, traditional leaders, including representatives of the Shehu of Dikwa, the Shehu of Bama, and the Emir of Gwoza, also graced the occasion.

Representatives of development partners and civil society – UNDP, UNICEF, IOM, UNODC, and Network of Civil Society in the Northeast expressed confidence in the potential of the TJ framework.

Technical sessions featured presentations by Professor Mala Mustapha and Dr. Ibrahim Muhammad Ahmad, who shared research findings on transitional justice and its core principles as applied to Borno State. Prof Tar explained the principles, functions, structure and expected outcomes of the local peace and reconciliation committees.

The workshop is expected to produce a blueprint for sustainable reconciliation and peacebuilding in Borno State between the returnee low-risk insurgents and local communities. The local peace and reconciliation committees are expected to commence work soon after their inauguration by the government.