Grief and outrage have gripped the Kuchibuyi community in the Kubwa area of the Federal Capital Territory following a deadly clash on Saturday between residents and a combined force of Nigerian Army and police personnel, allegedly acting on the orders of Bwari Area Council Chairman, Hon. John Gabaya.
The violent confrontation, which erupted over a brewing land dispute, has left one youth dead, two critically injured, and several others arrested. The deceased has been identified as Attahiru Abubakar, a recently married young man whose life was cut short during what locals describe as a brutal and unlawful land takeover operation.
According to eyewitnesses and multiple community sources, the clash was the culmination of months of tension stemming from a disputed land allocation. The controversy centres on claims that Gabaya, in collusion with the Managing Director of Grow Homes Estate Ltd, Mr. Roland, is behind a forceful land grabbing attempt masked as a government-backed housing project for retired military personnel.
Videos obtained by dailyanchornews show heavily armed soldiers and police officers invading the agrarian village as residents—mainly youths—attempted to resist the encroachment. Chaos ensued, leading to gunshots that claimed the life of Abubakar and left others bleeding as they were whisked away by security operatives. The body of the deceased and the injured are currently unaccounted for, with detained youths believed to be held at the Kubwa Area Command.
“This village, which feeds much of Kubwa and surrounding parts of Abuja with farm produce, has been thrown into mourning and panic,” a visibly shaken resident told Truth Live News.
“They killed Attahiru for simply asking questions. Is that justice?”
Community elders traced the beginning of the ordeal to February 1, 2025, when a team of surveyors, escorted by military personnel, entered Kuchibuyi and began surveying land without the community’s consent. The team presented a soft copy of a survey map, allegedly bearing Bwari Area Council’s stamp, claiming the land had been approved for a mini barracks project. They promised to return with formal documents.
That promise turned into violence on August 2, 2025, when Mr. Roland reportedly returned with another team of surveyors. Community youths, questioning the legitimacy of the project, escorted Roland to the palace of village head, Chief Isiaka Dauda. According to multiple witnesses, a phone call from Roland to Chairman Gabaya triggered the dispatch of security forces, who arrived with alarming speed and opened fire.
“This is how the Council Chairman has operated—backdating allocation papers and using force to grab ancestral lands for private developers. It’s an open secret that many of these allocations are backed by bribes and corrupt deals,” said a community elder who asked not to be named.
Locals allege that the Bwari Area Council, under Gabaya’s leadership, has repeatedly flouted federal land laws, ignoring the fact that only the Hon. Minister of the FCT, currently Nyesom Wike, holds constitutional authority to allocate land in the capital territory.
The recent expansion of road construction linking Kuchibuyi to Bwari through Kubwa, commissioned by Minister Wike, is believed to have increased the value of land in the area—making it a new target for speculative developers and powerful political actors.
Efforts to reach the Bwari Council Chairman, the FCT Police Command, and Grow Homes Estate for comment were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.
Meanwhile, community members are calling on the federal government and the National Human Rights Commission to intervene and ensure justice for the slain youth and all affected victims. Fears remain high that further violence may erupt if authorities fail to address what locals see as a growing pattern of official impunity.
“This is not just about land,” said one elder. “It’s about life, dignity, and the right of a people to exist without being wiped out by greed and guns.”