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By Lukman Olabiyi
Journalists from more than 30 media organisations, have called on the National Assembly to urgently enact a law to safeguard the rights of Abuja’s Original Inhabitants (AOIs), warning that decades of neglect and displacement must be addressed through concrete legal action.
The call was made at the end of a one-day summit on Environmental Justice and Indigenous Rights, where media practitioners stressed that the proposed bill would establish a robust institutional framework to correct what they described as historical injustices dating back to 1976.
According to the communiqué signed by Adewale Adeoye, Kasali Akinwale, Usman Kadir, and Mariam Usman, the takeover of ancestral lands following the creation of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) under Decree 6 of February 4, 1976, has left over two million indigenous residents marginalised and underserved.
The journalists said the proposed legislation represents a shift from token gestures to structured solutions that address long-standing issues such as land loss, economic exclusion, and limited access to education and healthcare.
“Indigenous issues are global, yet Nigeria has failed to act decisively. The Abuja Original Inhabitants have continued to suffer in silence. The country must listen before it is too late,” the communiqué stated.
They also urged the Federal Government to domesticate international frameworks, including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and relevant International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions.
The summit, organised by the Network of Journalists on Indigenous Issues (NEJII) with support from CHRICED and the MacArthur Foundation, highlighted the stark contrast between Abuja’s modern infrastructure and the living conditions of its original inhabitants.
Participants noted that despite being custodians of the land, many AOIs lack access to basic amenities, describing their situation as one of “agony, pain, and deprivation.”
