Dakwa residents challenge their attachment to Abuja
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Daily Trust
Residents of Dakwa are protesting pressure to abandon their affiliation with Niger State and change their property documents in favour of the Federal Capital Territory. The dispute could revive border tensions between Abuja and Niger State, according to Daily Trust.
Residents of Dakwa, in Niger State, protested on Saturday against pressure they attribute to district head Alhassan Babachukuri, appointed by the Etsu of Bwari, to affiliate with the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of Abuja. Zuba District Head Halilu Abubakar Garba told Daily Trust that residents' property allocation documents refer to Niger State and that the families concerned have lived in Dakwa for several generations.
According to Halilu Abubakar Garba, tensions increased one to two weeks ago after Babachukuri allegedly erased references to Niger State from signs in Dakwa. Garba accused him in particular of covering up references to Tafa Local Government Area and having the inscription of Niger State removed from the sign at the Dakwa police station, actions that allegedly raised residents' concerns about the safety of themselves and their property.
