Tafawa Balewa Communities Challenge Bauchi Government Over Sayawa Chiefdom

Tafawa Balewa Communities Challenge Bauchi Government Over Sayawa Chiefdom

By, Abdulwahab Muhammad, Bauchi

A legal battle is brewing in Bauchi State as Tafawa Balewa’s non-Sayawa communities move to block the government’s plan to establish Sayawa Chiefdom within their town.

Village Head of Tafawa Balewa, Mallam Abdullahi Maigida, and 206 others have filed a lawsuit at the Bauchi State High Court, challenging the decision by Governor Bala Mohammed to create the chiefdom with its headquarters in Tafawa Balewa.

The Governor, Attorney General, Bauchi State House of Assembly, Clerk of the Assembly, Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Bauchi Local Government Service Commission, and Bauchi Emirate Council have all been named as defendants.

Court Ruling and Legal Standpoint

The plaintiffs, represented by Counsel

Rabiu Garba, are seeking an interim injunction to halt any steps toward creating the chiefdom. Presiding over the case, Justice Sa’ad I. Zadawa granted the claimants permission to sue on behalf of non-Sayawa communities and internally displaced persons from Tafawa Balewa LGA who are now living in Bauchi, Bununu, Burgel, Dass, Mararraban Liman Katagum, and beyond.

However, the judge denied an immediate order to halt the government’s plans, instead directing that all defendants be formally served and adjourning the case to February 18, 2025, for a hearing.

The Root of the Controversy

In December 2024, Governor Bala Mohammed approved the creation of Sayawa Chiefdom following decades of agitation from the Sayawa people, a predominantly Christian ethnic group in Tafawa Balewa and Bogoro LGAs.

While Sayawa communities celebrated the decision, non-Sayawa residents strongly opposed the move, arguing that Tafawa Balewa is not Sayawa land. They claim the move distorts the town’s historical identity and appears to reward Sayawa communities accused of past violence in the area.

With the court battle heating up, the dispute over Sayawa Chiefdom’s headquarters is set to further deepen ethnic and political tensions in the region.