SOLUDO and the EMEAKAYI Question: The Need for Reasonable Response
I find it difficult to understand why Governor CHUKWUMA SOLUDO has found it so difficult to deal reasonably with the controversy surrounding the appointment of Mr. KEN EMEAKAYI as his Special Adviser on Security.
The issue is not whether EMEAKAYI is guilty of the murder of former NBA Chairman, Onitsha Branch, Chief BARNABAS IGWE, and his pregnant wife, ABIGAIL. Guilt must be established by a competent court after due process.
The issue is that the Anambra Truth, Justice and Peace Commission, established by the state government, reportedly identified serious unresolved questions concerning the killing and recommended that the case be reopened. Prof. CHIDI ODINKALU, who chaired the Commission, has now publicly raised concerns about EMEAKAYI's alleged connection to the matter.
Surely, the reasonable response is neither to pronounce EMEAKAYI guilty nor to simply dismiss the allegations.
The government can - and should - investigate.
If the evidence does not support prosecution, let that be established transparently. If there is sufficient evidence, let the appropriate prosecutorial authorities act. Until then, government should be cautious about placing someone facing such serious unresolved allegations at the centre of its security architecture.
This does not violate the presumption of innocence. It protects the integrity of the process.
Governor SOLUDO does not have to fight ODINKALU. He does not even have to agree with him. But he owes the people of Anambra an explanation of what his government did with the recommendations of its own Truth, Justice and Peace Commission.
The Igwe killings are not merely an old political controversy. They represent a painful chapter in Anambra's history and an unfinished demand for justice.
The families deserve answers. EMEAKAYI deserves due process. And the people of Anambra deserve a government that is prepared to confront difficult questions rather than avoid them.
The best way out is simple: investigate, establish the facts, respect due process and, where responsibility is established, hold the responsible persons accountable.
That is what the rule of law requires.
*** Okechukwu Nwanguma is Executive Director, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, RULAAC, and he writes from Lagos.