Dr. Ibrahim M. Zikirullahi, a human rights activist, has raised alarms regarding the severe hardships faced by Abuja’s indigenous communities. He warned that groups including the Gbagyi, Bassa, Gwandara, Koro, and Ganagana face potential extinction due to systematic displacement. Despite clear Supreme Court mandates, the government has failed to provide restitution for properties seized under the 1976 Military Decree No. 6.
During a public address in Abuja on Wednesday, Zikirullahi highlighted that over two million original inhabitants are suffering from political disenfranchisement, land loss, and cultural decline. Since 2025, these conditions have deteriorated further. He described a cycle of structural conflict fueled by state-sanctioned demolitions of homes, agricultural lands, and sacred sites.
These actions have caused widespread homelessness and psychological distress. Zikirullahi argued that these demolitions constitute a form of violence through urban planning, effectively bypassing direct military force. He noted that the absence of a post-conflict environment is due to the continued denial of resettlement or compensation. Furthermore, these communities remain politically marginalized, lacking the ability to elect their own governor or state representatives.
Beyond physical displacement, the loss of these lands is causing the rapid erosion of indigenous languages. Zikirullahi cautioned that urbanization and the destruction of cultural environments threaten to silence these linguistic traditions permanently. He urged that development policies should not serve as tools for dispossession, insisting that government support is essential to preserve these cultural identities.
