The group said Buhari had worsened the plight of the original inhabitants and had done nothing to end their frustrations.
The rights group said that the President would go down in the history of Nigeria, just like his predecessors, as a leader who had done great injustices to the FCT’s original inhabitants.
The Executive Secretary of CHRICED, Dr Ibrahim Zikirullahi, who raised these during a press conference to commemorate the 2022 World Indigenous Peoples Day, said a majority of the original inhabitants lived in penury.
The PUNCH reports that World Indigenous Peoples Day is celebrated on August 9 every year.
Zikirullahi argued that the refusal of the Federal Government to appoint an indigene of the FCT as a minister which would have given them a sense of belonging buttressed the fact that they have been relegated to the background.
According to him, FCT indigenes bring a lot to the table in terms of knowledge, cultural repositories, and key strategies towards protecting the environment.
He said, “The injustice initiated right from 1976 by Murtala Muhammad is what the present President is consolidating on. The people’s land in the FCT has been taken away from them without compensation and if they complain, the government uses the military and Police to chase them away.
“The Aso Rock is built on people’s land. Some have their fathers’ graves in their place. The same thing at the National Assembly complex, and the Federal Secretariat; these are people’s farmlands, ancestry homes, and shrines where they worshipped their gods that were forcefully taken away from them without compensation.
“Each time they cry, they (Government) use police, military to chase them away and beat them.
“The victory of the people through the courts set up by the government, this administration has blatantly refused to obey those courts injunction.
“Even the judgement that indigenous people should be appointed into the Federal Executive Council, has not been obeyed.”
Zikirullahi said there would be a national stakeholders dialogue to hold on Saturday, August 6, 2022.
He said, “On Monday, August, 8, will be the Grand Rally of FCT Original Inhabitants at the Old Parade Ground, Abuja, while the D-Day of the celebration will feature a Regional Conference, an exhibition and an awards dinner for Heroes and Heroines of the FCT Original Inhabitants struggle.”
“As a cohort of civil society organisations working to ensure the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples, these activities are not being organised as an end in themselves.
”They all present peaceful, lawful and effective options to call on stakeholders in government to stand on the side of justice, fairness and inclusion.
“As we count down to the day, therefore, our goal is to ensure the voices of FCT Original Inhabitants resonate in the global context of the struggle for the rights of indigenous peoples.
“Finally, in terms of what we can all do in our individual capacities to advance the cause of FCT OIs, there are many simple and effective steps.
“One of such steps, which we are currently taking as a cohort, is to record a less than one-minute video with a mobile phone, stating our support for FCT Original Inhabitants.”
