FCT Natives Appeal To Wike On Kuchibedna Community Demolition, Demand Compensation

A coalition of indigenous groups and residents in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has appealed to FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, calling for immediate intervention in the plight of the residents of Kuchibedna community in Kafe District, whose homes were recently demolished by a developer.

The call came amid growing tension over what community leaders described as “indiscriminate demolition” of indigenous settlements across the capital city, leaving thousands homeless and threatening the cultural heritage of the territory’s original inhabitants.

The Coordinator of the FCT Senior Citizens Forum, Elder Danjuma Tanko Dara, at a press briefing in Abuja on Friday, voiced the collective frustration of indigenous communities, demanding justice for those displaced by the recent demolitions.

“We are calling on the Honourable Minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike, to ensure that all affected natives and residents in the Kuchibedna community are compensated,” he said.

The community leader emphasised that the crisis extended far beyond Kuchibedna, noting that apart from residents of Kuchibedna community, other affected communities in the FCT that have been displaced by demolition, including Gishiri, Dagbalo, among others, should also be compensated.

Elder Dara issued a warning to the FCT Administration and the federal government about the potential consequences of continuing the current policy of displacement without adequate compensation.

“The minister should put an end to the indiscriminate demolition of natives of Abuja communities all in the name of public interest, because the natives are gradually being pushed to the wall and anything that would not be in the interest of anybody might happen if care is not taken,” he said.

The coordinator of the Senior Citizens Forum, while challenging the current administration’s approach to urban development, posed a fundamental question about the rights of indigenous people in the FCT.

“There is no state in Nigeria where the original inhabitants of the state do not have their villages. Why are the natives of the FCT treated as second-class citizens who have no right to live in their ancestral land, by taking away their land to give to a non-indigenous developer?

“We are true citizens of Nigeria and we should be treated as such. That is why we are advocating for our elected governor, more House of Representatives and Senate members. Because if we have the complete democratic structures in the FCT, all this kind of things would not happen.

“The federal government should end this marginalisation of the FCT natives by ensuring that we are given the democratic structures that are due to the FCT as the 37th State of Nigeria. We cannot continue to endure the indescrimate demolition of our houses, all these must stop. Enough is enough,” he said.

As the nation’s capital city continues to expand, the plight of communities like Kuchibedna highlights the growing tension between modernisation and preservation of indigenous heritage.