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PRESS RELEASE 13/04/05

GOVERNMENT OF DEMOLITION FURTHER ABUSES THE RIGHT TO SHELTER OF AGIP WATER FRONT RESIDENTS

The Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (IHRHL is deeply troubled by the manner in which the Rivers State government has continued to show disservice to the ideals and principles of UN’s Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and the Nigerian Constitution which in their relevant articles and sections, emphasized the fundamental nature of the rights of citizens to Shelter. This continuing naked affront to human dignity and indeed right to life, occasioned by the renewed demolition of AGIP water front, near Port Harcourt city and turning out over ten thousands of Rivers men, women and children to the streets without alternatives, is condemnable and we outrightly condemned it in all of its ramification. The policies of this Government continue to ignite signs of a failing state.

A government that promised housing developments for its unsheltered population, majority of whom live in shanty and inhabitable environments, having shamelessly failed to provide the same, inspite of huge revenue that continue to accrue to the State from the Federation Account and the 13 per cent oil derivation; has further decided to appropriate to itself and the Agip Oil company at an unknown exchange rate, the land space occupied by the inhabitants of the waterfront through the back door, as it did with the Rainbow Town demolition during its first term of office; thereby displacing and endangering the lives of the affected citizens. Five years on, those displaced from the Rainbow town demolition, are still living under bridges and similar inhospitable spaces in and outside the city. Those uprooted from other shanty areas as a direct result of politically instigated youth violence a couple of months ago, are still living without homes. The population of displaced persons rather than decreasing in the State is rising on daily basis.

The arrest and detention of an Australian news crew who were in the area covering the demolition exercise and its inhumanities, is also a major set back for freedom of movement, assembly, speech and expression, as provided by the Nigerian Constitution and other international human rights instruments, and should be unequivocally condemned. It presents the Government as undemocratic and its security set-up as unprepared for the incredible due process requirements of effective representative democracy.
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The IHRHL wishes to remind the Rivers State Government that the purpose of the State is the happiness of man and woman in society. The interests of the community should be harmonized with the rights of the individual. The Rivers man and woman cannot conceive of living without justice; just as he cannot conceive of living without liberty and shelter.

Finally, the IHRHL call on the Rivers State Government to effectively harmonize its public policies as they affect the ordinary citizens, rather than the current confused state of affairs. Having displaced its inhabitants without due process, the IHRHL call on the State Government to urgently take necessary action to rehabilitate the displaced families through payments of compensation and provision of alternative homes, before the invaluable negative impact of the displacement begin to tell on all without exception in our society, failing which IHRHL shall take appropriate legal step at the domestic, regional and international level to promote and protect the fundamental right of our citizens to Shelter and life.



Meriel Bell-Gam (Ms.)
Economic, Social and Cultutral Rights Advocacy

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NIGER DELTA CIVIL SOCIETY COALITION
C/o Rights House, Block B, Road 10, Federal Low Cost Housing Estate, Rumueme. Obio/Ak0por LGA. Rivers State.

June 24, 2005

TORTURE, INHUMAN AND DEGRADING TREATMENT AT PORT HARCOURT PRISON

The Niger Delta Civil Society Coalition (NCSC), with its membership drawn from human rights, environmental, women and community-based civil society organization across the Niger Delta region have called for an immediate reaction from the Federal Government on reports that prisoners at the Federal Government prison in Port Harcourt are being tortured and inhumanly treated in an attempt to extract information about the recent jail break which occurred on Friday June 17th.

“We have received specific reports that there are fears for the lives of some prisoners because of the level of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment being perpetrated. These same reports indicate that specialists in this practice have been brought to the prison from Abuja”

For the avoidance of doubt, the United Nations Torture Convention and other relevant international, regional and national Constitution, frown seriously at the use of torture or any inhuman or degrading treatment as a means of punishment.

“We urge the government at the highest levels to treat these reports seriously and ensure that the matter is immediately investigated. It is indisputable that there is a lack of any information about what is going on inside the prison and relatives of prisoners have been expressing alarm about the fate of their relatives for several days”

The head at the prison is reported to have offered to display photographs of the unknown number of prisoners who have died in incidents subsequent to the initial jail break

“We believe it is imperative that outside observers be granted immediate access now that these allegations can be openly addressed and dealt with. It is also imperative that the status of prisoners, including those injured and killed be immediately released

“Nigeria is entering a critical phase in its international relationships and we hope that the government can show its maturity by openly responding to this matter in the manner that it has begun to deal with the killings of civilians in Apo village in Abuja
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Background

On Friday June 17th a major jail break occurred at Port Harcourt prison, a federal facility in Rivers State, Nigeria. Authorities have acknowledged at least 165 prisoners escaping with 5 persons killed in the incident and an unknown number injured in the incident and fires which broke out at the time.
The jail break resulted in the escape of militia leader Soboma George, who was deputy to Ateke Tom, one of two major militia leaders during the clashes of 2004 which peaked in September with threats to oil facilities by Asari Dokubo. Soboma George was arrested over allegations of ordering the killing of another gang leader after a cease fire deal in October 2004.

The jail break out has caused significant security concerns and forces which included at least one helicopter gunship and several hundred soldiers have been re-deployed to Port Harcourt. In the same weekend there was also a jail break in Ogwashi-Udu prison in Delta State in which authorities concede 28 prisoners escaped and an attempted jail break in Ahoada Rivers State.


Anyakwee Nsirimovu
Chair, NDCSC
(08033100399, 08055920174


Robert Azibaola
General Secretary, NDCSC
(08034070550)

Bari-ara Kpalap
(08033416796)
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Press Release June 10, 2005

Women Protest Against Unequal Representation In Bayelsa State.

The Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in line with its position on gender equality and fair representation in Politics, laud the courageous act of the women in Bayelsa State on the peaceful protest of their exclusion in the local government affairs of the state.

The protest which began on Tuesday, 7th June, had women numbering over two thousand from all local government areas of the state. The main grouse of the protest is their exclusion from the nominees list for the 24 new local Government Councils in the State. The women laid siege at the State House of Assembly Complex, Yenagoa, criticizing the State Government for what they termed as the gross marginalization and cheating of women in the State despite their huge contributions to the enthronement of Democracy.

The IHRHL States its reaffirmation on the Rights of women in competing favorably in governance and in decision making, and the obligation of state parties in ensuring the protection and implementation of these rights as contained in the Articles 1 and 13 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and Articles 7 of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which the Nigerian State has ratified.
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We decry the gross Misrepresentation, Marginalization and Discrimination of Women in all Strata of Society, especially in formulating Policies that affect them and in taking up leadership positions in the country. It is disheartening to note that women make up a miserable 0.5 per cent of Political representatives in the Political terrain. This is a sharp contradiction from equal representation and equity, as women are known to constitute about 49 per cent of the local population of the Nigerian State.

The IHRHL, through this medium is urging all Policy Makers, State Parties to rise to the challenge of ensuring the equal representation of women in the democratic process in the Local, State and National Level. State Parties have an obligation to fulfill by seeing that women in Nigeria should compete favorably with her male counterparts as in other parts of the World.

The Law Makers should work for the domestication of the International Instruments on the rights of Women, i.e., The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and The African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights. They should take a clue from their South African and Tanzanian Counterparts by implementing the Affirmative Action for Women, where 30 per cent of all appointive and elective positions are reserved for women.

While urging Nigerian women to take a stand and take up their positions in the society, the IHHRL canvases for a peaceful means of protesting and abhors all forms of Violence in making their grievances known to all concerned.


Chisa Akaninwo
Programme Officer – Women’s Human Rights Advocacy.

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PRESS STATEMENT

COVER UP AT PPSB – IHRHL SET TO CHALLENGE IMPUNITY

The IHRHL has received with utter horror the untowed acts of executive lawlessness, victimization, harassment, inhuman and degrading treatment, and torture meted out to Mr. Daniel Mkpaka, school teacher and Chairman of the Conference of Secondary School Tutors, by top officials of the Rivers State Post Primary Schools Board. Daniel Mkpaka’s ultimate offence is that he has been outspoken about fraudulent activities of top officials of the Board, that have negatively affected teachers and others by of way of their salaries and other entitlements not paid them for months. At the helm of this heinous violations of Mkpaka’s fundamental human rights and freedoms, is shockingly a well known and respected Rev. Father, Pius Kii, preacher turned political appointee - the erstwhile Chairman of the Board.

By leading workers to question the arbitrary deductions from workers salaries, welfare packages including stagnancy in staff promotion, the Board under the Chairmanship of said Rev Father Kii wickedly terminated Mkpaka’s appointment on trumped up charges; which a Committee set up by the State Commissioner of Education, investigated the said termination; In its July 2004 report to the Commissioner, the Committee referred to the termination as politically motivated and condemned the act in its entirety.

Rather than reinstate Mr. Mkpaka to his job, the Board and its erstwhile Chairman has continued to haunt Mkpaka with both regular and Mobile Police officials. He has been arrested twice and released upon payment of huge amount of money at the Police Area Command, Port Harcourt in the name of bail.
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On December 23, Mkpaka was once again invited to the police station, where upon arrival, unannounced, he was bundled to a Port Harcourt Magistrate Court, with the arbitrary intention of keeping him away from his family for the Christmas and New Year season, by a Rev gentleman, who ought to know better, the true meaning of family and Christmas season, more than all else.
IHRHL lawyer who learnt of the matter for the first time in court, intervened and obtained bail from the presiding magistrate. But like a prewritten script, the Presiding Margistrate set an impossible bail condition, that a level 17 Civil Servant must be produced to sign bail requirements for Mkpaka. This condition which became impossible to meet, meant that Mkpaka ended up in the Awaiting Trial Section of the Port Harcourt prison, and would not celebrate Christmas with his family. This condition we must add made a nonsense of access to justice which the Court is obligated to make possible to the common man or woman in a bailable matter of this nature.

The IHRHL unequivocally condemn this arbitrary use of political power against the powerless for no good reason. IHRHL therefore owe it to Rivers peoples to whose revenues are being unjustly and corruptly used by the School’s Board and Mr. Mkpaka to use its free legal services unit, to make sure that transparency, accountability and justice is brought to bear at the PPSB, by way of using the instrumentality of legal and judicial process to a logical conclusion. As an interim measure, IHRHL is sending a letter to the appropriate Committee of the Rivers State House of Assembly and the Police Commissioner to investigate this matter as it affects those two organs. This level of impunity must not be allowed to succeed.

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Niger Delta Civil Society Coalition (NDCSC)
National Secretariat: c/o Rights House, Rumueme Housing Estate, Port Harcourt. Rivers State.

Press Statement July 28, 2005

RESPONSE TO THE CIVIL LIBERTIES ORGANISATION
AND HUMAN R IGHTS WATCH REPORT
ON POLICE TORTURE AND KILLINGS

The Niger Delta Civil Society Coalition (NDCSC), a coalition of over 60 Niger Delta based human rights and community-based groups, stepped in with support today for the report issued by the report issued by Human Rights Watch and CLO (Civil Liberties Organization) on torture and extrajudicial killings by the security services in Nigeria.

“We have to stand squarely behind this report and say that we are still observing an alarming level of abuse in police custody and we have repeatedly reported on unlawful and negligent killings in this part of the country,” said Anyakwee Nsirimovu, Chair of the Niger Delta Civil Society Coalition .

“It is simply not fair to say, as the Ministry of Information did yesterday, that those responsible for killings in custody are investigated and prosecuted when such deaths are generally not even investigated. The few cases we have seen where action is taken is usually as a result of NGO activism or massive public pressure as in the case of the Apo 6. There is no accountability for the vast majority of cases where ‘armed robbers’ are killed on a daily basis,” said Nsirimovu.

“ Nigeria needs an effective Police Services Commission, Human Rights and Complaints Bureau that has proper authority, resources and the determination to carry out investigations and refer cases for prosecution where abuses have taken place. It should be a national embarrassment that autopsies and investigations are not routinely carried out in cases of death where the security services are involved. Instead families more often face a battle even to recover the bodies of those killed,” said Bari ara Kpalap, MOSOP Coalition member.

When the level of impunity has reached a level where police officers believed they could get away with the killing of the Apo 6 then this should signal a need for fundamental and immediate reform. We are appalled by the accounts in the CLO and Human Rights Watch report which are in line with our own assessments and carry many reminders of the conduct that was established under military rule.

The report highlights an unfortunate truth. The use of beatings and torture and threats by the Police has become so routine we are no longer surprised as a society that this is what happens when you fall into the hands of the Police. Over recent years we have frequently reported that our activists have been beaten or assaulted by police officers without any corresponding action against the perpetrators,” said Kpalap in port Harcourt today.

So far there has been a response from the Ministry of Information to this report. Let there be an investigation and response by each of the bodies which should have been aware of these cases; The Human Rights Commission, The Police Services Commission, the Inspector general of Police and the Minister of Justice,.

We hope that the Federal Government will no longer bury its head in the sand and will act on the recommendations of this report. We also expect the international community to ask for a full and comprehensive response from the Federal Government to this report which calls into question whether the Police have a genuine commitment to reform of their practices,” said Anyakwee Nsirimovu in Port Harcourt today

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PRESS STATEMENT ISSUEED BY THE INSTITUTE OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMANITARIAN LAW (IHRHL) IN PORT HARCOURT, RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA, ON THE MURDER OF CHIEF A. K. DIKIBO

Monday,February 9, 2004

LIKE Chief Dr. Marshall Harry, Chief A. K. Dikibo has been Slaughtered

The Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (IHRHL), is shocked and most frightened by the news of the assassination of yet another leading Rivers State politician, Chief A. K. Dikibo, Vice Chairman, South South Zone of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Saturday, February 7, 2004.

This brutal killing coming at the heels of spate of political assassinations in the country, further confirms our fears of insecurity of lives and properties as we approach the forth-coming local government and indeed the violent struggle for 2007 elections.

We unequivocally condemn this dastardly act. We are acutely worried about what is now an emerging modus of offshore killings of prominent Rivers politicians such as this, suspected to be politically motivated, which seem to be beyond the powers of the police to unravel. It is unbelievable for Mr. President within 48 hours of this heinous crime to come to the conclusion that it was an armed robbery attack, in the face of a helpless and inefficient Police Service. It is most curious that amongst the cars within the scene of crime, as reported – both before and after the victim’s jeep – that it was Chief Dikibo that has to receive a direct and fatal blow. This must not be dismissed as another stray bullet matter.

The fact that this assassination took place outside Rivers State like the grave murder of another ‘brother’ of late Chief Dikibo, late Chief Dr. Marshall Harry, whom Dikibo succeeded in his current position in the ruling party, poses grave danger to Rivers State and the nation. The modus is well established: kill them away and no fingers shall be pointed toward the home-front! It challenges the police and the government to unravel this murder, especially in the light of the provisions of Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, which provides that, “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government”. In our view, a government that fails both in the state and nation, in this primary responsibility has failed the people, and should be thrown out.
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We call on politicians and political parties to steer away from hunting one another for slaughter, which this ugly trend portends. They should take decisive steps by dismantling the armed groups and machinery of political violence, which they have either tolerated or directly assembled, and forthrightly encourage the culture of rational dialogue to dislodge disagreements and misunderstandings. Our politicians must learn to agree to disagree.

For the police, this is an additional assassination, which we would refuse to accept any excuse on their part for not apprehending and prosecuting those behind it, according to the law. Like the case of late Dr. Marshall Harry who held a press conference and spoke on the threat to his life before he was later killed in Abuja, we call on the IGP to urgently commence the investigation on the slaughter of this prominent politician of Rivers State; not only from the point of his assassination near Asaba in Delta State, but right from the political home front in Rivers State to the point of death. The very important party meeting that he was going to attend, his future after that meeting, if he had attended same and its ramifications for all interests in the local and national party before and during the 2007 elections, his disposition on both local and national party developments, serious and unserious – reported and unreported threats should be taken into account by the sphere of the investigation. Those politicians who love democracy in place of anarchy must assist the police and not keep anything back in regard to helpful information. It is important to have this done, because, we do not know who the next person would be. Right now, NO ONE XIS SAFE!

For the avoidance of doubt, even though this murder has once again taken place outside the shore of Rivers State, it is in our view that Rivers State contrary to religious claims by some, as the most secure environment in the nation, is now the most insecure, especially so for the voices of dissent and those considered as nuisance value to the values of the status quo. Until we condemn the condemnable, arrest, prosecute and lock away those found to be freely holding weapons of mass destruction (terrorists), there will be no end to this kind of UNCHRISTIAN behaviour.
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PRESS STATEMENT January 7, 2004

SHELL’S ONE MONTH OLD SPILL SETS RUKPOKWU FOREST/FARMLAND ABLAZE

The Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law(IHRHL) is shocked to learn that, one month after a major oil spill from one of Shell’s high pressure pipeline, in Rukpokwu town, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, the Shell Development Company of Nigeria has not deemed it fit to clamp the thorn pipe which is presently still spurting out oil into a wide area, destroying crops, fishponds used for fish farming, economic trees, farm houses, animals, and other income generating assets. This spill has wiped out several years of food supply for families in Rukpokwu communities, with it wiping out income from products sold for cash. Without doubt, the consequence for loss of livelihood ranges from children missing school because their parents are unable to afford the fees, to virtual destitution.

On December 3rd 2003, members of the community noticed and spill and immediately sent a delegation to the Shell authority in Port Harcourt. Shell responded some few days later, accompanied with lorry loads of armed Mobile Police men. Their mission was to ascertain the cause of the spill. They certified themselves that it resulted from corrosion, when they dug out the aged pipe which has been lying underground since 1963, when the pipeline came into being. Shell left the scene promising the community members that they would return to clamp the area, and never showed up hence.

Since Shell’s inspection and departure, there has been three wild fire incidents, the latest still raging as we are preparing this statement, thereby hazarding the health of the people. Each time, fire incident is reported, Shell responded late with its Fire fighting trucks and equipment. As a direct result, their main source of water supply, environment, forest, farmland, homes, animals and aquatic life is being polluted and razed down with wild fire that is traveling with the oil at very high speed. Over 50,000 barrels of oil may have gone down the drain. The fire has covered an area of over 400 hectres of land and water, and continuing. It is noteworthy that Shell has admitted willingly that this spill did not result from sabotage, and has in no way been impeded access by the people of the communities. Shell is yet to respond with relief and health material to the community.
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By acceptable International standard, fifteen years is the estimated safe lifespan of a pipeline, but in this case, the pipeline has aged 40 years. DPR regulations require the body responsible for a spill to clean the site and restore it to its original state so far as possible . SPDC official policy is that “All hydrocarbon and chemical spills in the vicinity of the company’s operations shall be cleaned up in a timely and efficient manner.” One wonders why Shell has refused to clamp the corroded pipeline, rehabilitate the people and commence cleaning of the area one month on.

The oil spill tragedy in Rukpokwu is probably worse than the major oil blow-out at Ebubu in Ogoni in 1967. A study of Ebubu spill carried out nineteen years after it had been set ablaze, leaving a five-meter thick crust, found that the vegetation in areas downstream of the spill was still being degraded due to slow seepage of crude oil from the spill site. It is very clear that the affected communities in Rukpokwu town would not have anything to do with this vast area of damaged land in the next fifty years or more.

The damage caused by this spill on the overall environment cannot be evaluated, but its long term effect on the people is invaluable. The IHRHL call on the SPDC, to urgently take their social responsibility, ideals and principles of human rights – especially economic, social and cultural rights seriously; by urgently rehabilitating the people, providing medical facilities and checks and arrange to commence clamping and cleaning the area immediately. The IHRHL would have no choice but commence necessary legal action against Shell, if by the morning of January 12, 2004, it has failed to respond to the forgoing demands.

Finally, the IHRHL call on the Government of Rivers State to live up to its Constitutional responsibility of primarily protecting the lives and property of its people, by visiting the damaged community and its people and call upon the SPDC to do what is expected of it. Inspite of the fact that Government was informed at the same time as Shell, no government official has visited the community nor the site till date.
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Niger Delta Civil Society Coalition
C/o Rights House, Block 3B, Road 10, Rumueme Federal Housing Estate,
Obio/Akpor LGA

Press Statement - September 12, 2005

The Niger Delta Civil Society Coalition (NDCSC) welcomes the recent arrest and detention of Bayelsa State’s Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Solomon Apreala; Accountant, Mr. Stephen Enamamu and Government House Accountant, Mr. Olaitari Ikemike, by Personnel of the Economic Crimes Commssion for alleged diversion of public funds, on Monday, September 5, 2005 in Yenagoa.

It is a clear statement of fact that huge amount of resources that have accrued to the peoples and communities of the Niger Delta region, has become a curse rather than sustainable development, following the habit in which corruption is being practiced in the region with impunity by public officials, through all kinds of white elephant projects; and tunneling of public monies to foreign accounts. It is only in the region that public officials engage in projects that run into billions of Naira for their immediate or future personal comfort, without such contracts meeting the basic requirements of due process, transparency, accountability and sustainable development; at all times blaming the difficult terrain of the region for their non-performance..

The poor governance and complete absence of sustainable human development in the states of the rich region, has been responsible for abject poverty, poor educational facilities, bad roads, serious environmental health, conflicts and youth violence. Public Officials since 1999 have continued to distort public expenditure policies to suit themselves. The institutions and their policies have failed beyond reasonable doubt.

It is with this failure in mind, that we strongly fault and condemn the response of the Bayelsa State Government to the recent arrest. Any attempt by the Government of Bayelsa to paint the arrest with any colour of ethnic vindictiveness, initimidation or politics, must be seen as a serious slight on the impoverished peoples of the communities of Bayelsa who have been at the receiving end of bad governance since the advent of democratic regime in 1999. Corruption remains corruption even when it is committed by our Mothers and fathers and must not be condoned by any.
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We therefore, call on the EFCC to tirelessly engage in more graphic investigation of public institutions and officials in the region, and the manner of impunity with which they cause conflicts, violence and deaths through the carting away of resources meant for the sustainable human development of the people and communities of the region. This is absolutely in the heart of the institutional and policy changes needed to sustain sound fiscal management and the maximization of the benefits from extraction of mineral resources from the region.

Effective investigation and successful prosecution and punitive punishment shall serve as a major lesson to the young and old whose only attraction to politics is the strong believe that public office is the quickest route to wealth.

We call on civil society groups in the region to note that condoning any level of corruption of public officials, does not move the argument for resource control forward, and does not serve the cause of the people they purport to serve. We must at all times condemn the criminal governance that has remained the bane of the of sustainable human development and security, over the years. It is a fact that the revenue which has found its way into the region in the past six years, inspite of the terrain, would genuinely have changed the face of our environment and turned the fortune of our peoples, instead of the wreckage, poverty and violence that have become our dividend.

We urge the EFCC to know no sacred cows. Examples must be made of men and women who are opportuned to serve and to contribute in the development of their fellow citizens, but who have voluntarily chosen to impoverish and reduce their right to human existence to ground zero. This is the only way we can avert charlatans from Government Houses and Legislatures after the next elections.
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RENEWED ERUPTION OF CRISES IN OGONI LAND

Renewed clashes and hostilities between Bua- Teyor Kaani and Gbor- Kaani communities in Khana local government area of Rivers state has attracted a cause for concern of the conflict transformation strategies unit of the institute of human rights and humanitarian law. This concern is particularly with the further depletion the people’s human right, environmental and general livelihood
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Information made available to the general public will ease the cause of blame apportionment, there must have been open remote reasons for either communities to have been provoked and there must have been persons and circumstances that fanned the embers of this explosive, destructive and dehumanizing violence that has further reduced lives properties and general existence in both communities to rubbles.

Security efforts aimed at nipping this at the bud may have failed, but renewed security efforts may be redirected at bringing the perpetrators to book without considering the urgent need to exhume the remote as against the immediate cause of this conflict.

The IHRHL’s position in furtherance of the above is to redirect the attention of the members of the communities involved to put aside their swords and identify the root causes of all the problems that seems to have given rise to the division between the twin communities, then make a quick resort to dialogue. Using the avenue of dialogue as a vital means of settlement. All communities involved will then be compelled to adopt deep-rooted peace that will ordinarily relaunch strong efforts to rebuild, rehabilitate and reintegrate development in all the communities mostly devastated by this ill wind of violence

The IHRHL however, is constrained to call on the Khana local government chair man to ensure that meaningful interventions and relief strategies are initiated to address the plights of those that have been displaced, injured and those that have been reduced to the desperate position of destitute and orphans.

The overbearing need for lasting peace in the area should move the council chair man to convene a process that will strengthen consultation and result oriented dialogue between all communities involved. The Khana local government council should monitor such local areas that are more prone to conflict with the aim of establishing workable interventive structures.
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