Nigeria
Africa
2016-2017
Ekuri Initiative
$52,000
The Ekuri Initiative, with funding from the SRM, supported a court case to challenge the government’s revocation of community land to build a superhighway and to restore the rights of the Ekuri Community to 36,000 hectares of forest. Efforts succeeded both in restoring ancestral community land and forest rights, and in positioning the community as a front-line defender of vital biodiversity. The Ekuri Initiative challenged the Cross-River State government’s revocation of community land for a planned superhighway. They used several avenues to contest the decision and raise awareness: a legal challenge, non-violent protest trainings, media engagement, and a petition that received over 250,000 signatures. In early February 2017, this work paid off: the Governor of Cross River State, Ben Ayade, published a notice in a Nigerian newspaper officially reversing the decision to build on community lands.
You may also find these recent press articles of interest:
- Cross River Government Reverses Order of Acquisition of 10km Land on Either Side of Superhighway. Cross River Watch. 16 February 2017
- Nigerian superhighway threatens communities and wildlife. ENCA. 17 February 2017
Women’s groups mobilized around the super highway recently: