The Federal Capital Territory’s Commissioner of the Public Complaints Commission FCT,Nigeria., Comrade Dalhatu Ezekiel Musa, on Tuesday met with leaders of Kawu ward in Bwari Area Council during an on-the-spot investigation. The investigation is part of ongoing efforts to resolve the conflict between indigenous farmers and herders in the council. Joining the Commissioner were representatives from the Department of State Services (DSS), the FCTA Agriculture Department, and the Bwari Area Council.

The intervention follows a petition from the Original Inhabitants Development Association Abuja, Bwari Chiefdom, led by one Mr. Ali Danjuma Kawu. The petitioners alleged land grabbing by Fulani herders, attributing this to the grazing reserves designated by the Ministry of Federal Capital Territory decades ago, for which the local communities claim they have not been compensated. According to the petitioners, herders from neighbouring Kargarko LGA in Kaduna State, Tafa LGA in Niger State, and Karu LGA in Nasarawa State have been encroaching beyond these reserves into farmlands of the indigenes, leading to confrontations, rape and forceful takeover of lands of the indigenous people.

The petitioners further alleged that the increased kidnappings and insecurity in the FCT was due to the influx of herders to the area, and that the grazing reserves have become a source of conflict rather than a solution for peaceful coexistence between the two groups it was intended to be.

After hearing the petitioners’ grievances, the Commissioner assured that the Commission is committed to a peaceful resolution of the dispute. Additionally, the DSS representative disclosed that there are ongoing efforts by the government to address the security concerns in the area.