By Sarah NEGEDU
Indigenous groups and residents of the Federal Capital Territory have called on the FCT Administration to halt all forced demolitions in the new year, warning that the ongoing displacement of citizens violates constitutional rights to shelter, dignity and due process.
The demand was made at a recent press briefing convened by the Senior Citizens Forum of the FCT, where a coalition representing both natives and long-term residents, lamented that they have borne the brunt of demolition exercises across the territory.
Speaking on behalf of the Forum, Coordinator Elder Danjuma Dara, said development in the capital cannot continue to ride on the destruction of homes without compensation or resettlement.
According to him, “The New Year must bring a new way of operating. We call on the Honourable Minister, Chief Nyesom Wike, to immediately halt the use of brute force to demolish houses belonging to natives and non-natives residing in the FCT.
“Even where the administration intends to execute a public interest project, the necessary compensation and resettlement must be conclusively done before any bulldozer is moved to the site.
“Our people are rendered homeless overnight; their lifetimes of investment are destroyed in minutes. This is being done to Nigerians, in Nigeria’s capital, as if they are not citizens of this country.
“We are Nigerians too, and we deserve to be treated with the rights and respect the constitution guarantees every citizen,” he said.
The group condemned what it described as an “uncivilised approach” to enforcement, insisting that the use of force in demolition exercises has inflicted needless hardship and waste on families across the territory.
They argued that the Land Use Act and the FCT Act contain clear provisions for compensation and resettlement, provisions they say have been frequently ignored.
The briefing also reignited debate over Abuja’s political status, with the coalition insisting that the absence of an elected governor, state assembly and functional local councils enables arbitrary decisions that would not stand in other states.
Dara said, “The root of this impunity is the anomalous governance structure of the FCT. We demand that a full democratic state structure be established in the FCT. Let us have our elected Governor, our State Assembly, and our local government councils.
“When this is done, everything will be handled properly, through due process and public accountability, as is done in every other state of Nigeria. The FCT should be run as one of the states of Nigeria, by the people of the FCT.”
The group also highlighted what they described as a unique form of disenfranchisement faced by Abuja residents, who cannot vote for a governor in the FCT and are increasingly unable to vote in their home states due to residency rules. This, they said has left many of them shut out of gubernatorial elections nationwide.
The coalition therefore vowed to intensify its campaign for governance reforms, insisting that Abuja cannot continue as a federal territory where “citizens’ rights are optional.”
