Daniel Otera
Hundreds of residents in the Karsana community of Abuja have been left stranded following a demolition operation allegedly carried out by private developers Oceanic Properties and Equilibrium Concept which destroyed homes, places of worship, and the community chief’s palace without prior notice or compensation.
The Chairman of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Christopher Maikalangu, described the incident as a “grave injustice” against the indigenous Gbagyi people and vowed to initiate legal proceedings against those responsible.
“This demolition was done without any court order, without any notification, and no compensation. These are legitimate Nigerians, the original owners of this land,” Mr Maikalangu said during an inspection of the affected area on Saturday.
The Karsana community, largely populated by the Gbagyi ethnic group original inhabitants of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has faced increasing threats of displacement due to rapid urbanisation and expansion by private real estate developers. The recent demolition affected several residential buildings, the village head’s palace, and a church, leaving families homeless overnight.
“These people are homeless. Where are they going to sleep today?” Mr Maikalangu asked. “If you want to relocate people who live here, first thing, compensate them. If you don’t want them here, give them another alternative.”
According to Mr Maikalangu, official petitions have been submitted to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and President Bola Tinubu, seeking immediate intervention. He also appealed to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation to support the emergency resettlement of displaced families.
Speaking to journalists, Dikko Jezhi, youth secretary of the Karsana community, described the demolition as traumatic and dehumanising.
“Residents were at work when their homes were demolished with police escort. Families had no advance notice and lost all possessions,” he said.
Mr Jezhi emphasised the ancestral connection between the Gbagyi people and Karsana:
“I asked my mother yesterday if she had another state aside from this, and she replied no. Even her grandfather was born here. So we don’t know where to go. They have demolished our houses. Our properties are down.”
Despite being protected under the Land Use Act of 1978 and the Federal Capital Territory Resettlement and Compensation Policy, many indigenous communities in Abuja continue to suffer forced evictions without due process.
A 2022 review by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) stated that:
“Relocation of indigenous populations must be preceded by adequate notice and payment of compensation or resettlement to a suitable location.”
However, implementation remains weak. In 2023, the Minister of State for the FCT, Mariya Mahmoud, admitted that many original settlers had yet to be “appropriately resettled and compensated as agreed upon.”
Independent research by the Centre for Housing and Sustainable Development (CHSD) at the University of Lagos found that over 70% of forced evictions in Abuja between 2010 and 2022 were executed without compensation. The Gbagyi people, who make up a large share of the FCT’s indigenous population, have been disproportionately affected.
Organisations such as the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) have repeatedly condemned Nigeria’s approach to urban planning. In a joint report, they noted that:
“Nigeria’s eviction policies violate international human rights standards, which require community consultation, lawful process, and guaranteed resettlement.”
The FCT continues to experience one of the fastest urban growth rates in sub-Saharan Africa. According to historical data from MacroTrends and a 2019 sector report by the Oxford Business Group, Abuja’s population has been growing between 5.1% and 8.3% annually, driven by internal migration and infrastructure development.
A 2023 population estimate by MacroTrends placed the FCT’s population at over 3.85 million, with projections suggesting sustained growth of more than 4.5% yearly. Satellite towns such as Karsana and Kubwa are expanding at “unprecedented rates, sometimes as high as 20% annually,” due to real estate investments, the Oxford Business Group noted.
This demographic surge has increased pressure on land, often resulting in conflict between private developers and local indigenous communities, many of whom lack formal land titles.
At a June 2025 public hearing reported by Vanguard Newspaper, FCT natives stated that more than 300 indigenous settlements were at risk of displacement or demolition. Several speakers at the hearing described the trend as an “institutional land grab.”
“We are not strangers in our land,” a Gbagyi community representative told lawmakers. “We have lived here for generations, yet every year we face the threat of being wiped out for development projects.”
Mr Maikalangu warned that no construction activity would be permitted on the disputed Karsana land until justice was served.
“The developer acted outside due process and ignored community rights. Get them somewhere, build houses for them, and relocate them. But you destroyed the houses, they have nowhere to sleep and you are comfortable. It’s unfair. We are all Nigerians. We can’t continue like this in this country,” he said.
He added that both the AMAC authority and the affected community would pursue legal redress, insisting that the rights and dignity of indigenous people must be respected.