A Quest for Justice After Five Decades of Dispossession and Displacement

By Adakole Ijogi

On 3 February 1976, the federal government, through Military Decree No. 6, compulsorily acquired approximately 8,000 square kilometres of ancestral land to build a new capital. The military regime promised to relocate the indigenous communities and pay them fair compensation. Almost fifty years later, that promise remains one of the most broken in our nation’s history. Today, over two million indigenous people of the FCT representing nine tribes and seventeen chiefdoms face systematic exclusion, land dispossession, political disenfranchisement, and cultural erasure. Without urgent and decisive action, these communities risk extinction.

I acknowledge that Decree No. 6 of 1976, in establishing the Federal Capital Territory, declared the FCT as home to all citizens of Nigeria. This provision has often been cited as a legal stumbling block to recognising the distinct status of the original inhabitants. However, we must examine this argument critically. Across the thirty-six states of the federation, Nigerians are citizens while residing in their state of residence, yet the indigenous inhabitants are still accorded state of origin status. The two concepts citizenship and indigeneity are not mutually exclusive. A citizen can be both a resident of a state and an indigene of that state. The FCT should be no different. The fact that the FCT is the nation’s capital does not erase the ancestral ties of those who occupied the land long before it was designated as the seat of federal power. Their connection to the soil is not diminished by the arrival of the Federal Government; rather, it is their very presence that gives the territory its historical and cultural foundation.

The nine indigenous ethnic groups of the FCT are the Amwamwa, Bassa, Egbira, Gade, Ganagana, Gbagyi, Gbari, Gwandara, and Koro. Their traditional livelihoods farming, fishing, hunting, and craftsmanship are endangered by unchecked urban sprawl and ecological degradation. Their languages, farmlands, traditions, and customary governance systems are gradually being lost. The sites on which the Millennium Park and the National Assembly now stand were formerly known to the indigenous people as Kpedna, while the Aso Rock site was known as Wughigyipe. These names are a silent testimony to a history of erasure.

The story of compensation is even more grievous. The family that owned the land on which Aso Rock Villa now stands the seat of presidential power in Africa’s largest democracy received only ₦20,000. Barr. Dara Zhidu, speaking on behalf of FCT natives, has stated that barely 3 to 5 percent of the indigenous population were ever compensated, and even that was inadequate. Over 90 percent of FCT natives received nothing at all. Only about 5 percent of indigenes were resettled particularly the inhabitants of Wuse, the largest community, which was moved to Sabon-Wuse in Tafa Local Government Area of Niger State. Communities like Maitama and Asokoro were resettled to Kubwa village under deplorable conditions. Subsequent governments have failed to keep faith with the founders and have instead violated the resettlement plan, constituting a very big breach of trust.

The constitutional framework offers some hope, yet the social reality remains deeply unjust. The 1999 Constitution does not require state of origin for elective office Sections 65, 106, 131, and 177 set uniform qualifications without reference to ancestry. Section 42 prohibits discrimination on grounds of place of origin. The Supreme Court has affirmed that these constitutional requirements are exhaustive and cannot be supplemented. Yet in practice, non-indigenes are often treated as permanent guests in their state of residence. For the FCT, where there is no statehood, the original inhabitants are effectively disenfranchised a situation aptly described as “taxation without representation.”

As your Senator in 2027, I am committed to championing a comprehensive legislative agenda to address these injustices. The following are the concrete solutions of what I will pursue in the Senate with regards to the question of FCT Original Inhabitants.

We must first establish a dedicated Resettlement and Integration Agency. A bill for the establishment of the FCT Displaced Original Inhabitants Resettlement and Integration Agency has already been sponsored by Hon. Joshua Chinedu Obika and has scaled second reading in the House of Representatives. This agency would provide a systematic approach to resettlement, guaranteeing housing, healthcare, education, and other social infrastructure in new communities. Resettlement must not be for individual families alone but for contiguous village communities, preserving the social fabric that has held these groups together for centuries. A comprehensive census and documentation of all original inhabitants must be conducted to create a verifiable database to guide policy.

We must also create a Compensation, Resettlement and Welfare Board with sustainable funding. A bill for this purpose was introduced in the 9th Assembly but did not scale through. I will revive and strengthen it. The Board would be empowered to source funds locally and internationally to manage compensation and ensure proper utilisation   of   resources.   Crucially,   a   percentage   of   tenement   rates   and right-of-occupancy fees collected by the FCT Administration should be deducted annually and paid into the Board’s coffers. This would create a dedicated, predictable revenue stream, insulating the Board from the vagaries of annual budgetary allocations.

Third, we must push for FCT Statehood or equivalent constitutional status. The original inhabitants of the FCT remain politically suppressed without statehood, they cannot access employment quotas, university admissions, scholarships, or elected positions that are the preserve of state indigenes. The FCT Stakeholders Assembly has demanded the demarcation of the FCT into three Senatorial districts, additional federal constituencies, and the re-classification of Area Councils as Local Government Areas consistent with other states of the federation. As an interim measure, I will sponsor a bill to reserve one supervisory councilor seat for original inhabitants in each of the six Area Councils, giving them a direct voice in local governance.

Fourth, we must enact the FCT Indigenous Peoples Development Commission (FCT-IPDC) Act, following the model of the Niger Delta Development Commission. This Commission would have a clear mandate for cultural preservation, economic empowerment, and the provision of healthcare and education. It would also oversee land restitution, ensure fair compensation, and monitor compliance with international standards such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)    and    ILO    Convention   169.    I    will    also    champion   the FCT Traditional/Cultural Original Preservation Act to protect languages, traditions, and historical sites, and to guarantee that the FCT Traditional Council has direct representation on the governing boards of all new agencies.

As Dr Ibrahim Zikirullahi, Executive Director of CHRICED, told the United Nations at the 18th Session of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Geneva: “Development must never come at the cost of dispossession or cultural extinction.” After over five decades, the original inhabitants of the FCT have waited long enough. The legal framework already exists the Constitution guarantees equality, the courts have affirmed their rights, and international instruments provide clear standards. What is missing is the political will to translate these principles into tangible action.

I am not going to the Senate to merely speak; I am going to legislate. I will introduce these bills in my first hundred days, and I will mobilise bipartisan support to ensure they become law. The FCT belongs not only to the federal government or to those who have migrated there, but also to the people whose ancestors first tilled its soil and gave it its names. It is time to honour that heritage, and in doing so, to build a capital that truly belongs to all Nigerians.

Adakole IJOGI is the PDP Senatorial Candidate for the Federal Capital Territory in the 2027 general elections. He is from the Middle Belt, a rights advocate, development expert and a passionate voice for the marginalised.