An NGO, Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED), has called for political recognition, justice and compensation for Abuja original inhabitants (AOIs).
Executive Director of the NGO, Dr Ibrahim Zikirullahi, made the call while speaking in Abuja on Monday at a training on reporting indigenous issues, using global standards.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the training was organised by Network of Journalists on Indigenous Issues (NEJII), with focus on promoting the political, economic and cultural rights of the AOIs.
Zikirullahi raised concerns over decades of neglect and displacement, following the relocation of Nigeria’s capital from Lagos to Abuja in 1976.
He recounted what he called the historical injustices faced by the indigenous communities of Abuja since the city was designated as the new federal capital territory.
The executive director stated that in spite of the lofty vision of the late Gen. Murtala Muhammed, who initiated the capital relocation for reasons of security and decongestion, the rights and welfare of the people originally occupying the land had remained largely ignored.
According to him, the initial government’s plan includes: relocation and compensation of the original inhabitants, with a proposed sum of N2.8 million as compensation in 1976, at a time when Nigeria’s annual budget stood at about N400 million.
“This process was never completed due to Gen. Muhammed’s assassination and the subsequent change in government.
“When the matter was presented to the Obasanjo administration, it was dismissed on grounds of lack of funds.
“That decision left the people stranded, stateless and homeless. Decades later, they continue to face forced evictions and demolitions in the name of development,” he explained.
Zikirullahi decried the continuous displacement of the indigenous people without proper resettlement or compensation, describing it as a violation of their fundamental human rights.
He claimed that some families were paid as little as N2,000 for lands now occupied by multi-million naira properties, while others received as little as N500 for areas now housing public institutions.
“Imagine losing ancestral lands where your forefathers were buried and being told to leave without fair compensation,” he lamented.
The executive director emphasised that the exclusion of the original Abuja indigenes from political representation had compounded their struggles.
He further stated that a coalition had taken some legal steps to challenge what he called the injustices done to the indigenous people of Abuja.
For instance, he said that several cases had been filed in court, stressing that efforts were also ongoing to engage the government and international bodies, such as the United Nations, on the issue.
On his part, the NEJII Coordinator, Adewale Adeoye, claimed that the relocation of FCT to Abuja was executed without consultations with the affected communities.
Adeoye described how families were uprooted from their homes, sacred sites destroyed and traditional worship grounds desecrated.
“People woke up one morning to discover that their great-grandfathers’ lands had been taken away. Ritual temples and sacred places that no one dared to enter were destroyed,” he said.
He, however, said that the indigenous people had chosen the path of peace in spite the decades of neglect and injustice.
Drawing comparisons with global examples, he highlighted how other nations had addressed similar historical wrongs through reparations and policy reforms.
“In Canada, 20 billion dollar was paid to the First Nations as compensation. In New Zealand, the Maori people received over 2.24 billion dollar in settlement for land confiscation. Even in Australia, tribunals were set up to redress historical injustices,” he noted.
Zikirullahi also cited the compensations paid to indigenous peoples in Brazil, Norway and Chile as evidence that Nigeria’s original inhabitants deserved similar treatment.
