Tangale Community Overseas Rejects Alleged Plans to Take Ancestral Lands in Gombe, Cites UNDRIP and Land Use Act

Our Correspondent

The Tangale Community Overseas, TCO, has rejected allegations that the Gombe State Government plans to appropriate portions of Tangale ancestral lands in Billiri LGA for pastoral settlement, warning that any such move without community consent would be “cultural dispossession” and a violation of Nigerian and international law.

In a public statement issued after consultations with TCDA, KTSCA and TEF, TCO declared that the Tangale homeland “is not vacant land. It is not state property to be redistributed at will” and vowed to “firmly oppose” any attempt to allocate, reclassify or restrict access to the highlands.

The statement responds to a 24 June 2026 press release by the Centre for Justice on Religious and Ethnicity in Nigeria, CJREN, which alleged that Gombe State Government was considering taking parts of the Tangale highlands for pastoral settlement while restricting indigenous access.

TCO said if true, the action would constitute “a profound violation of historical justice, customary ownership, and the rights of indigenous communities over their ancestral territory.”

The group also criticized an undated rejoinder by the Tangale Traditional Council, headed by what it called “the imposed individual in the office of Mai Tangle,” saying it failed to address whether traditional representatives took part in any government discussions on the alleged plans.

“The Tangale people are entitled to the truth. Silence, evasion, and half-statements cannot substitute for accountability,” the statement said.

TCO said the Tangale highlands in Banganje, Billiri, Tal, Kalmai and surrounding areas are “sacred ground” housing ancestral settlements, sacred hills for traditional religious observances, the historic site of the former Mai Tangle palace, and locations of the first church and first school in Tangale land.

“To tamper with these sites without full consultation is to erase living history. Any policy that disregards this reality is not development—it is cultural dispossession,” the group stated.

The group added that the lands are also critical for livelihoods, as many Tangale families farm there. “Any attempt to reduce access to these lands will directly threaten food security, destroy livelihoods, and deepen poverty in already vulnerable communities,” it said.

On legal grounds, TCO noted that the Land Use Act allows compulsory acquisition only for “genuine public interest, executed transparently and lawfully.”

It further cited UNDRIP, stating that international law protects indigenous peoples’ rights over ancestral territories.

“No government can claim legitimacy while undermining the survival of its own people,” the statement concluded.

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