NAME OF MECHANISM

Rivers State Truth and Reconciliation Commission

PERIOD OF OPERATION

29 November 2007 – 9 March 2009. The commission presented its final report to Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi on 10 March 2009.

MANDATE AND OPERATIONS

Mandate: Established by the Rivers State government on 29 November 2007 to investigate the causes, nature and extent of the gross violations of human rights committed in the Niger Delta region and specifically Rivers State from June 2000 to May 2004. It was also tasked with facilitating the provision of amnesty to individuals who fully disclosed the truth of human rights violations they committed and the fates and whereabouts of victims.

Staff: Chaired by Supreme Court Justice Kayode Eso (Rtd.), the commission had six other members: Chief Shyngle Wigwe, Dr. Pax Harry, Bishop Ignatius Kattey, Chief C.D. Orike, Chief O.R. Long John and Mrs. Ngo Ogan. Mr. Chima Boms served as counsel to the commission and Mr. Oguru Fortune Oguru as secretary.

RESULTS

In March 2009, Commission Chair Justice Kayode Eso presented a 571-page report to Governor Amaechi, which has yet to be made public. The commission report is the result of 41 public hearings, 47 committee hearings and 215 memoranda received from members of the public. The problems in Rivers State are attributed to governance, politics, cultism, chieftaincy and insurgency. Specifically, the findings implicate the state, particularly the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, for the crises. The report mentions the economy, militancy and multinational oil companies as central to the reconciliation process but makes no formal recommendations on ways to promote reconciliation.

The report presents reconciliatory efforts within 15 previously conflict-ridden communities. However, previous and current governors of Rivers State remain suspicious of the commission, which has been called a witch-hunt [All Africa | 11 Mar 2009]. Governor Amaechi vowed to gazette the commission’s report and to pursue prosecutions of those implicated, but not much movement has occurred in this regard [NBF | 9 Apr 2009].

BACKGROUND

The Niger Delta has been racked by intercommunal strife and corruption centring on the presence of multinational oil companies, which have caused unequal development and environmental damage in the area [Nigerian Muse | 7 Jul 2008]. The Rivers State Truth and Reconciliation Commission was intended to investigate the roots of these issues.

SOURCES

[All Africa | 11 Mar 2009]
[Nigerian Best Forum | 9 Apr 2009]
[Nigerian Muse | 7 Jul 2008]