The Network of Journalists on Indigenous Issues (NEJII) has called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently address long-standing economic, social, and political grievances of Abuja’s original inhabitants (AOIs).
In a letter to the presidency on Wednesday by Adewale Adeoye and Usman Dogo, NEJII said their appeal followed a week-long tour of more than 800 indigenous communities across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The group said residents of those communities continue to suffer forceful displacement from ancestral lands, occupation without compensation, destruction of sacred cultural sites, and persistent exclusion from political and economic opportunities within the FCT.
Abuja’s indigenous groups include the Koro, Ganagana, Gbade, Ebira, Nupe, Gbagyi, Bassa, Gwandara, Amwamwa, among others.
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NEJII said many community members acknowledged Tinubu’s appointment of an indigene, Zephaniah Jisalo, as a federal minister, describing it as “a remarkable threshold”.
The group, however, stressed that deeper institutional and legal reforms are still needed.
According to the letter, Abuja’s original inhabitants “are living in the most horrendous socio-political situation” with many communities reportedly lacking schools, health centres and clean water, while youths face joblessness.
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NEJII also raised concerns over the destruction of forests and economic trees by “various interests claiming to represent the government”.
The group estimated that about three million AOIs now live in remote parts of the FCT after being displaced through successive administrations since the 1976 decree that transferred Nigeria’s capital from Lagos to Abuja.
NEJII called for the creation of “Abuja state” to enhance political and economic rights of AOIs, dedicated education and scholarship funding for indigenous children, return or compensate for lands allegedly seized by the military.
“Return of all arbitrarily seized land by the Nigerian Army and the Airforce to the AOIs or compensation for land and territories that may have been acquired by force without consultation with the original owners,” the statement reads.
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“Investigation of the widespread abuse on the rights of Indigenous peoples by security agencies who are found of taking over Abuja Indigenous territories attacking and killing AOIs in the process.
“Free, prior and informed consent of Abuja indigenous people regarding the exploitation and exploration of the resources in their ancestral land.”
They also called for job reservation and improved employment access for AOIs within the FCT, domestication of ILO convention 169 and the UN declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples (UNDRIP) and the establishment of a special panel to probe unpaid compensation, displacement and destruction of ancestral temples.
The group urged Tinubu to take “immediate” steps to address these issues in order to guarantee justice, stability and development for the original owners of the nation’s capital.
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