16th November, 2023
By Chimezie Anaso
Amb. Bianca Ojukwu, the Secretary to the Anambra Truth, Justice and Peace Commission (ATJPC) has said the number of people allegedly buried in a mass grave discovered in the state is yet to be ascertained.
Ojukwu said this in a statement on Thursday while denying claims that the mass grave contained 322 corpses as recently reported in some sections of the media based on a post of her Facebook page.
The former Nigerian ambassador had disclosed on the Facebook post that the mass grave site was discovered through testimonies by witnesses who appeared before the ATJPC.
However, Ojukwu, in a statement she released on Thursday explained that while the suspected mass grave was discovered and sealed off for forensic investigation, the number of people allegedly buried there was not yet known.
According to her, the 322 people quoted in the story of the mass grave were those verified killed or dead as a result of violence within Anambra in the course of the Commission’s sittings, as testified by witnesses who appeared before it.
Ojukwu said the number of bodies in the suspected mass grave will only be known after a painstaking process of forensic investigation.
She said this was why the site had been sealed off.
Ojukwu noted that many people remained unaccounted for while 18 persons were identified as missing or having disappeared.
“The attention of the ATJPC has been drawn to certain misleading news reports about the mass grave site in Anambra following the second phase of public hearings which took place from October to November.
“Three hundred-and-thirty-two bodies were not recovered from the grave site as has been erroneously reported by some sections of the media.
“This figure represents the number of people verified as killed or dead as a result of violence within Anambra.
“The number of bodies contained within this site is yet to be ascertained, and can only be known after a painstaking process of forensic investigation, hence the site has been sealed off,’’ Ojukwu stated.
She added that the ATJPC urged all those whose relatives; loved ones or friends were missing to file a report with the newly established Bureau of Missing Persons domiciled within the Ministry of Justice.
(NAN)
APC/ALLI
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Edited by Alli Hakeem