Lawyers, journalists form network to protect Abuja indigenous people

Two civil society groups, Network of Journalists on Indigenous Issues and Lawyers Network for the Protection of the Rights of Abuja Original Peoples have expressed their resolve to promote and defend the rights of original inhabitants in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Recalled that the indigenous peoples, who were descendants of the first to settle in the FCT some 1000 years ago, have often complained of exclusion and all forms of repression and loss of their ancestral values, occasioned by the movement of the Federal Capital from Lagos to Abuja in 1976 by the military regime and the subsequent loss of most of their land.

The original inhabitants, who are about 2 million people, always lament the displacement and evictions they have been facing and the denial of access to their ancient land to which they have physical and spiritual attachment.

The formation of the two networks and the set goal were parts of the resolutions contained in a communique signed by the Executive Director, Journalists for Democratic Rights (JODER), Mr Adewale Adeoye, issued at the end of a weeklong training and workshop dedicated to dealing with the plight of Abuja original inhabitants, mainly Gwari, Nupe, Ganagana, Koro, Ebira, Bassa and others that make up the nine aboriginal ethnic groups in the FCT.

The weeklong event saw extensive training of journalists on indigenous issues and a pair review by legal luminaries on the various laws that favour or marginalise the original inhabitants.

The event, which was organised by the Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED), with the support of the John D and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Catherine, had in attendance participants drawn from the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), the physically challenged, the University Communities, the Judiciary, civil society, labour and government institutions.

The networks, and participants, while agreeing on the resolution in respect of the rights of original inhabitants in the FCT, described the summits as timely interventions to prevent conflict and ensure peacebuilding in the territory.

They observed that there was the need to review all the statutory provisions to ensure any future constitutional review was inclusive of the rights of Abuja’s original inhabitants, urging the Federal Government to as a matter of urgent importance create the necessary atmosphere to address the challenges of indigenous peoples especially the original inhabitants of Abuja who wished to live in peace in a just and equitable country.

This was just as the original peoples in the FCT, who attended the event, said they suffered institutional repression, forceful eviction, their voices lost, were met with conflict arising from lack of access to ancestral land, loss of sacred forests, groves, burial sites amidst ownership of land defined by laws of the state which often exclude their input.

The affected people said they were stateless since employment and admission into Federal schools were based on being an indigene of a state whereas the FCT is not recognised as a state.

Besides, they complained that the original peoples in FCT cannot vote for state governors like other Nigerians, saying this denied them their constitutional obligations.

The participants said that across the world, original inhabitants and issues around their livelihood, rights and access to justice had become a critical focal point in national and international dialogue.

“The original peoples are over 300 million all over the world, including in the FCT, a distinct people with a long history characterised by rich heritage, traditional knowledge, language, spirituality, cultures and civilisations treasured for centuries. There are growing concerns that valuable assets of original inhabitants currently face multifaceted threats from lack of access to justice, human rights, economic, political and cultural dispossessions of land and ancestral territories by state and non-state actors,” participants said.

They added that the consequences of serial denial of the rights of indigenous peoples were manifest in a lack of equitable access to the essentials of life like housing, land and its bio and genetic resources, education, health, and equitable economic and political representation.

This was just as they noted that original owners were not alone, saying that the United Nations (UN) was concerned about the plight of Indigenous peoples and since 1982, had provided various Conventions and treaties, “including but not only the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,(UNDRIP), the International Labour Organisation, (ILO) Convention 169, the Economic, Social and Cultural, Rights, (ECOSOC), the Convention on Biological Diversity, (COB), the establishment of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples and the Working Group on Indigenous Issues, The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, other relevant international instruments for the advancement of the rights of indigenous peoples amidst other declarations by Indigenous peoples across the world.”

Speaking at the event, the Executive Director, CHRICED, Mr Zikirullahi Ibrahim, said original inhabitants in Abuja were enraged against historic injustices, adding that it was important to provide a democratic platform for them to express their views in a peaceful manner to avoid conflict or people taking the law into their hands.

He said resolutions at the end of the event would be made available to the relevant authorities for prompt action.

Other participants at the event included traditional leaders of indigenous ethnic groups in the FCT, a prominent lawyer, Lady IBB Benede; Dr Kole Shetimma and Dr Amina Salihu who represented the MacArthur Foundation; legal experts like Prof Abdulmumuni Bala Ahmed of Law Faculty, Bayero University, Kano, who presented a paper titled: “Key Legal Issues Affecting Indigenous Peoples in Nigeria: FCT Abuja as a Case Study;” Barrister Musa Salihu, Barrister Mohammed Ndayako (SAN) and Barrister Chima Williams.

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