A public interest lawyer, Maduabuchi Idam, has urged Ebonyi State Governor Francis Nwifuru to order the release of detained Amasiri residents by directing the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice to discontinue criminal proceedings against them.
He said their continued incarceration posed a greater obstacle to reconciliation than the restoration of Amasiri Development Centre.
In a letter dated July 29, Idam described the governor’s recent decision to restore the development centre as a positive step, but insisted that meaningful reconciliation would remain elusive, while several citizens of the community continued to be held in correctional custody awaiting trial.
The appeal follows Ebonyi State Government’s decision to restore Amasiri Development Centre, one of the measures taken after the crisis involving the community. However, criminal proceedings against a number of Amasiri residents are still pending before the courts.
According to Idam, the Attorney General should invoke his constitutional powers to enter a nolle prosequi, a formal legal procedure used to discontinue criminal prosecution and secure the immediate release of the detainees.
“The need to secure the immediate release of the detained indigenes of Amasiri is of greater urgency than the restoration of the development centre,” he said.
The lawyer said ending the prosecution would help rebuild trust between the government and the community.
“In the interest of justice, reconciliation and lasting peace, I earnestly urge Your Excellency to direct the Honourable Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice to exercise the constitutional powers vested in his office by entering a nolle prosequi to discontinue the prosecution against these detainees and secure their immediate release,” he wrote.
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Idam said such an intervention would “constitute a significant step towards healing the deep wounds inflicted upon the community, restoring confidence in the administration of justice and reaffirming your administration’s commitment to fairness, equity and the rule of law.”
Commending the restoration of the centre, the lawyer maintained that the decision alone could not undo the suffering experienced by the community.
“The continued incarceration of its citizens remains a painful reminder of those events and continues to undermine every genuine effort at reconciliation,” he said.
Idam criticised a recent Ebonyi State Government statement on the restoration of the centre, particularly the suggestion that the people of Amasiri had been “forgiven” by a neighbouring community.
“That statement was an unfortunate overreach, capable of further diminishing the dignity of Amasiri people,” he said.
According to him, the statement wrongly conveyed the impression that the community had admitted collective responsibility for wrongdoing.
“The people of Amasiri have consistently maintained their innocence and have never admitted responsibility for any collective wrongful act to warrant such a characterisation,” he said.
The lawyer warned that narratives portraying the community as culpable could worsen existing tensions and expose it to fresh threats.
“Reconciliation must be founded upon justice, truth, mutual respect and equal treatment under the law, rather than narratives capable of stigmatising an entire community,” he said.
He added that such narratives could embolden neighbouring communities to exploit what he described as Amasiri’s vulnerable situation by attempting to annex parts of its ancestral land.
Idam urged Governor Nwifuru to demonstrate statesmanship by facilitating the release of the detainees through the Attorney General’s lawful intervention.
“Such a decision will not only reinforce public confidence in the justice system, but will also send a powerful message that your administration is committed to equity, reconciliation and the protection of the constitutional rights and dignity of every citizen of Ebonyi State,” he said.
Ebonyi State Government did not respond to Idam’s latest appeal at press time.