By Princess-Ekwi Ajide, Abuja
The Resource Centre for Human Rights & Civic Education (CHRICED) says, approximately two million Original Inhabitants (OIs) of Abuja’s Federal Capital Territory, FCT, in Nigeria, comprising nine tribes and seventeen chiefdoms, are grappling with the challenges of landlessness, statelessness, and impending extinction of their culture.
The Executive Director of CHRICED, Dr. Ibrahim Zikirullahi, issued the warning at the 16th session of the Expert Mechanism for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, hosted by the UN Human Rights Council, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
He predicted that the future of these communities would appear extremely bleak unless immediate actions are taken to rectify the injustices against them
In his words, over the years, successive Nigerian governments have refused to adequately compensate or resettle the Abuja Original Inhabitants, whose lands were forcibly taken by Military Decree 6 of 1976. The Nigerian government has refused to respect and protect the rights of the Original Inhabitants of Abuja, despite solemn commitments to do so.
The CHRICED Executive Director, posited that a visit to the communities would reveal a lack of functional health and educational facilities, deplorable roads, and an absence of potable water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities.
According to him, these people are politically disenfranchised unlike other Nigerian citizens, who have the right to vote for a Governor and a State House of Assembly, the OIs in Abuja are denied such political rights.
Dr Zikirullahi, decried the Nigeria government’s persistent refusal to address these issues, noting that even though the OIs have done everything possible over time to bring attention to the obvious discrimination and injustices they face, but the government is yet to listen.
He cited the landmark Supreme Court judgements in favor of the OIs which have been disregarded.
The Executive Director CHRICED, with support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, called on the international body to amplify the voices and sufferings of the indigenous people of the Nigerian capital, Abuja.
