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By Henry Uche
The plight of indigenous people in Nigeria, particularly the original inhabitants of FCT was a focal point of discourse at a 2-day Legal Roundtable on “Access to Justice and Human Rights Protection in Nigeria,”
Organised by Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED) with the support of John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the session was attended by over 60 people including FCT traditional rulers, legal luminaries from academia, the Bar, and the Bench (including legal professors and Senior Advocates of Nigeria), media representatives, leaders of indigenous peoples, physically challenged people, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), labor unions, women groups, religious bodies, and youth associations.
From a communiqué signed and issued by Dr. Ibrahim M. Zikirullahi, Executive Director, CHRICED and Adewale Adeoye, Chairman, Communique Committee, participants maintained that the consequences of serial denial of indigenous peoples’ rights are manifested in a lack of equitable access to life’s necessities such as housing, land and its bio and genetic resources, education, health, and equitable economic and political representation.
According to them, it was high time the Nigerian government urgently created the necessary atmosphere that would address the challenges of indigenous peoples, particularly FCT inhabitants, who wish to live in peace in a just and equitable country.
The people under discourse who are distinct with a long history are distinguished by a rich heritage, traditional knowledge, language, spirituality, cultures, and civilisations treasured for centuries are from Amwamwa, Bassa, Egbira, Gade, Ganagana, Gbagyi, Gbari, Gwandara and Koro, in the FCT.
Participants demand that the FCT Minister’s ban on the issue of customary rights of occupancy be vacated immediately, to allow FCT Area Council Chairmen to grant customary rights of occupancy in the FCT, and that the FCT authority should stop further seizure of Original Inhabitants’ farmland and demolition of their settlements.
According to them, all statutory provisions should be reviewed to ensure that any future constitutional review includes Indigenous Peoples’ rights. Moreover, in other to protect their rights, original inhabitants should obtain and preserve all historical documents pertaining to the FCT, litigations and advocacy.
“We observed that the indigenous peoples in Nigeria, including the original inhabitants of the FCT face numerous challenges and multifaceted threats, including a lack of access to justice, violations of human rights, and economic, political, and cultural dispossessions of land and ancestral territories by state and non-state actors, They have tolerated afflictions for too long, and are agitated, therefore their fears need to be addressed urgently.
“The Original Inhabitants should take advantage of international legal avenues through which they can put pressure on the Nigerian government to meet its regional and international obligations.
“Traditional rulers should advocate for and support the needs of indigenous peoples and communities in Nigeria. Educational empowerment is critical for traditional leaders to ensure quality and effective representation,”
The communiqué enjoined FCT Original Inhabitants to take popular, democratic, non-violent actions within the existing democratic space to draw attention to their plight, and that such actions must be peaceful, legal, prompt, and pre-emptive of programs or projects that may jeopardize their livelihood.
The document admonished FCT Original inhabitants to strengthen their advocacy, and litigation in defense of their rights, and more research should be conducted by CSOs, and media on indigenous peoples’ social, economic, and cultural repression and isolation in Nigeria.
“The Original Inhabitants should explore the use of modern information technology to effectively publicize their plight. Professional organizations such as the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), and other pro-liberty organizations should be more involved in making indigenous issues a priority in Nigeria. The FCT Original Inhabitants should collaborate by bringing together all affected community leaders,” the communique stressed.
