A/HRC/25/56/Add.1
to community members to acquire and build on the site. Community members countered
that they had not been fully aware of what the payments were for and would not voluntarily
have agreed to quit their homes and land that they have occupied since 1904. Community
representatives claimed that their land had been falsely classified as Category 2 land,
namely, unoccupied and available for concession. The community added that, had this been
the case, however, no payment would have been made to the community by the University.
48.
The Independent Expert visited the neighbouring Bambili Tubah Sub Division,
where houses belonging to the ethnic Bambili community had been demolished, reportedly
by bulldozers sent by the administration of Mezam Division. Community members stated
that they had not been consulted or given prior warning, and that lives may have been
endangered. They did not know why their homes had been destroyed. Those affected
remain homeless or live with neighbours, and were clearly distressed. The authorities
reportedly claim that prior warning had been given and that the land had been designated as
a resettlement site for the Mbororo due to be expelled from their homes on the
neighbouring Mamada Estates (see paragraph 47).
49.
High-profile land disputes involving Mbororo communities have drawn much media
attention, including a long-standing dispute with Baba Ahmadu Danpullo, a prominent and
wealthy individual rancher, in the North-West. The Government has taken steps to settle
this and other disputes; for example, in 2003, it created a special interministerial
commission to investigate the conflict between the landholder and the Mbororo. The
recommendations made by the commission - including restoration of the original ranch
boundaries and compensation for displaced victims - have not, however, been implemented,
leading to a protracted dispute that now threatens to undermine new initiatives to resolve it.
50.
Mbororo representatives made serious allegations relating to ongoing land disputes,
including the shooting and serious injury of a Mbororo human rights defender and the
alleged harassment, including judicial harassment, of others. Representatives of the
Mbororo Social and Cultural Development Association (see paragraph 43 above) alleged
that they had been subject to harassment and unfounded charges because of their legitimate
activities to protect and promote the rights of the Mbororo and ongoing land disputes. They
alleged that investigative and judicial procedures had been flawed and discriminatory, and
called into question the independence of law enforcement bodies and the judiciary.
51.
In the Far North, local authorities stated that there were few tensions between
pastoralists and farmers or other local inhabitants over land and resources. Unlike in other
regions, most pastoralists are nomadic and continue to follow a traditional lifestyle and
traditional grazing routes, which are well known to farmers and accepted by them. Many
Mbororo cross national borders and do not have identification cards. They may stay to
graze for weeks at a time, but then move on to find food for their cattle; they thus have little
impact on local communities and there is little cause for tensions or conflict, because land
is plentiful in the region.
52.
Civil society representatives nevertheless highlighted the fact that the Mbororo face
numerous challenges relating to their nomadic lifestyles, and emphasized that conflicts over
land are common in all regions. In the far North, vast areas of grazing lands normally used
by pastoralists have reportedly been leased to foreign companies, including as hunting
zones for the foreign tourist market. Mbororo cattle have been killed because they allegedly
“trespassed” into these zones.
53.
In consultation with civil society, a pastoral code has been drafted, which includes
provisions for the demarcation of boundaries between pastoral land and farmland, which is
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