Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A political controversy in Kuje Area Council has ballooned into a fresh firestorm, as indigenous residents of the Federal Capital Territory have accused global rights body Amnesty International of selective outrage, questioning why it intervened in a local political dispute while staying silent for years on demolitions, displacement and marginalisation affecting the territory's original inhabitants.
The accusation was made by the Abuja Original Inhabitants Youths Empowerment Organisation (AOIYEO) through its Executive Director, Commandant Isaac David, at a news conference in Abuja convened in response to Amnesty International's reaction to a viral video purportedly showing the Chairman of Kuje Area Council, Hon. Samuel Danjuma Shekwolo, making threatening political remarks. The Kuje council chairman had reportedly been heard in the video saying, "It's either you are doing APC or leave the Area Council," a statement that has generated controversy and attracted outrage from Nigerians.
David said AOIYEO was not defending any alleged threat by the council chairman but was troubled by what he called Amnesty International's selective intervention in human rights issues affecting FCT residents. "Amnesty International is a globally respected organisation. The weight and credibility of that name carries the expectation of focus on systemic injustices, human rights violations, freedom from discrimination, dignity of original inhabitants and political and administrative marginalisation," he said. He argued that the struggles of indigenous people were not isolated incidents but part of a longstanding pattern affecting communities across the territory's 858 settlements, and expressed disappointment that the organisation had never spoken up for them.
"It is therefore disappointing that in all these years, we have not seen Amnesty International speak up for the indigenous people of the FCT on issues of land rights, right to life, exclusion and marginalisation by the Federal Government," David said. He repeatedly pressed the question of the organisation's absence from earlier controversies involving indigenous residents, citing alleged demolitions of indigenous homes, displacement without adequate compensation, and protests over land and other rights that he said never attracted comparable attention.
David warned that the sudden intervention in a local political dispute risked creating the impression that Amnesty International was shifting focus away from more fundamental human rights questions, stressing that AOIYEO wanted human rights advocacy to be consistent and impartial rather than justifying the Kuje chairman's alleged remarks. He also alleged, without providing evidence, that Amnesty International's intervention could worsen relations between indigenous communities and other residents of the FCT, and suggested the organisation may have been drawn by the attention the controversy generated on social media.
Turning to the question of consistency, David referenced former President Olusegun Obasanjo's description of the 2007 election as a "do or die" affair, as well as comments attributed to a traditional ruler in Lagos during the 2015 elections about throwing a political opponent into the lagoon. "Where was Amnesty International when these statements were made?" he asked, arguing that human rights organisations should not apply different standards depending on the political personalities involved. David noted that younger politicians often emulate the actions and inflammatory rhetoric of senior political figures and urged political leaders to exercise restraint and promote democratic dialogue rather than resort to threats.
Amnesty International had earlier condemned Shekwolo's remarks, describing them as a call to violence and an attack on freedom of association and political choice. The rights group also criticised the alleged failure of security agencies to hold the council chairman accountable. However, FCT indigenes have now turned the tables, questioning why the global rights body has remained silent on what they describe as decades of systemic marginalisation, demolitions and displacement of indigenous communities in the nation's capital.
Concluding the briefing, David called on Amnesty International to focus more attention on advocating for the long-standing rights, land security and political representation of the FCT's original inhabitants. He stressed that political differences should be resolved democratically and without intimidation.
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