A group of 17 Tiv individuals, representing indigenous Tiv communities spread across Awe and Obi Local Government Areas of Nasarawa State, have filed a suit at the Nasarawa State High Court in Lafia, challenging what they described as the “unlawful and forceful takeover of their ancestral farmlands by the state government and its agencies.”

In the suit filed by Aondo Tivlumun and 16 others on behalf of their communities, they prayed the court to save them from the calculated move by the state government to depopulate Tiv settlements.

This, they claimed the state government wants to do through the compulsory acquisition of 10,000 hectares of ancestral land without due process, adequate compensation, or alternative livelihood support.

Joined as defendants in the suit marked NSD/LF44/2015 are the Governor of Nasarawa State, the state government, the Attorney General of the state, the Nasarawa Geographical Information System (NAGIS), the Ministry of Land and Survey, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Nigerian Army.

The claimants through their counsel, Jerry Aondo (SAN) argued that the land acquisition, including the felling of economic trees for timber and charcoal, violates several legal provisions, including Section 44 (1) of the Nigerian Constitution, the Land Use Act, and international frameworks like Article 26 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

They alleged that an Executive Order signed by the Governor on December 29, 2023—Executive Order No. 3—was designed to dispossess them of their lands under the guise of agricultural development.

They said the intention was to displace the Tiv people and reduce their political influence in the state.

Among the questions they seek the court to determine is whether such a sweeping acquisition, carried out without prior consultation or compensation, can be deemed to serve an “overriding public interest” as required by law.

They also want the court to declare that the Executive Order is null and void for contravening extant legal provisions.

The claimants are asking the court to affirm the illegality of the land acquisition, an injunction to halt any further takeover or destruction of their properties, and an order compelling the defendants to pay adequate compensation where appropriate.

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.

Culled Guardian