Soludo Sets Up Seven-Member Inquiry Panel to Resolve Aguleri-Umuoba Anam Crisis

By Our Reporter

Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, has established a seven-member Commission of Inquiry to investigate the communal crisis between Umuoba Anam and Aguleri, signalling a fresh move by the state government to address the dispute and prevent further hostilities.

The commission will investigate the immediate and underlying causes of the conflict, examine relevant legal judgments and agreements, and recommend measures to secure lasting peace between the affected communities.

The decision follows an earlier peace meeting convened by Soludo at the Government House in Awka, where community leaders from Aguleri, Umueri and Anam agreed to a total cessation of hostilities.

Hon. Justice Nkemdilim Izuakor (Rtd) was appointed chairman of the commission. Other members are Ven. Onyinye Ilione, Rev. Fr. Cyril Elochukwu Mokwe, C. P. Ndianefo, Esq., HRH Peter Chukwuma Anigbogu and HRH Peter Ezeamama. Hon. Ekenechukwu Okoye, the governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Boundary Matters, will serve as secretary.

The panel’s composition brings together legal, religious, traditional and administrative representatives to examine the dispute and advise the state government on possible solutions.

The commission’s terms of reference include determining the remote and immediate causes of the dispute, with particular attention to the crisis that erupted between October 1 and October 4, 2026.

It will also investigate other factors that could provoke renewed violence between Umuoba Anam and Aguleri or extend the dispute to neighbouring communities.

A key part of its assignment is to recommend steps the state government should take to resolve the dispute and establish lasting peace across Anam, Aguleri and other affected communities.

The panel is required to consider all relevant court judgments and contractual agreements when examining the issues and formulating its recommendations.

The commission must submit its final report to Governor Soludo no later than February 28, 2027.

The inquiry follows a stakeholders’ meeting convened by Soludo at the Government House in Awka, bringing together traditional rulers, presidents-general and community leaders from Aguleri, Umueri and Anam.

At the meeting, the parties agreed to stop hostilities, while the governor undertook to establish a commission to examine the historical complaints, petitions and other issues behind the crisis.

The newly constituted panel is expected to investigate those issues and provide recommendations that could guide the government’s next steps.

In a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Mrs Chiamaka Nnake, the governor reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to peace, justice and the rule of law.

He urged stakeholders in the affected communities to cooperate fully with the commission and avoid actions capable of jeopardising the peace process.

The commission’s findings are expected to provide the state government with a basis for addressing the dispute, taking relevant legal decisions into account and developing measures to reduce the risk of future clashes.

As the inquiry begins, the priority remains translating the agreement to cease hostilities into a sustainable resolution of the long-running grievances between the affected communities.

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