The Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED) has taken a bold step towards preserving the heritage of Abuja's original inhabitants with the groundbreaking of the Abuja Original Inhabitants Heritage Centre at the University of Abuja.

Addressing stakeholders and participants at the event, Executive Director of CHRICED, Dr. Ibrahim Zikirullahi, said the centre represents more than a physical structure, describing it as a living monument dedicated to truth, dignity, and inclusion for the indigenous people who first called Abuja home.

Zikirullahi said the center will, among other things, break the cycles of exclusion and the walls of invisibility that have long obscured the stories of Abuja's original inhabitants. He described the centre as a sanctuary of memory and a lighthouse for dignity that acknowledges the rights of indigenous communities.

According to him, the centre will serve as a hub for research, civic engagement, dialogue, and cultural expression aimed at protecting the dignity and amplifying the voices of Abuja's original inhabitants.

The CHRICED director expressed appreciation to the MacArthur Foundation, the European Union Delegation to Nigeria, and other partners whose collaboration made the project possible.

Dr. Kole Ahmed Shettima, Africa Director of the MacArthur Foundation, in his remarks, explained that the Foundation's involvement in the project stemmed from a conscious effort to support communities within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).