Foundation Demands Reparations, Seeks Formal Apology for African Slave Trade
By Comfort Pius, Jos
The Foundation for the Healing of the African Slave Era Atrocities has called for formal apologies, reparations and long-term development investments from nations and institutions linked to the trans-Atlantic slave trade, describing such measures as essential for healing centuries of injustice and restoring the dignity of African peoples.
The call was made on Thursday at a press conference held
at the Tree of Life Garden in Jos, where the Foundation outlined a five-point framework centred on Recognition, Repentance, Restitution, Reparations and Restoration, known as the 5Rs.
Speaking at the event, the Apostolic Overseer of Abba Father Assembly and Convener of the Foundation, Joshua Egbagbe, said the initiative seeks to complement existing legal and diplomatic efforts on reparations with what he described as an apostolic and faith-inspired pathway for healing the wounds inflicted during the African slave era.
“The Foundation for the Healing of the African Slave Era Atrocities concurs with the growing international consensus on reparatory justice from a non-condemnatory position. We seek an open-hearted and Christ-like process of Recognition, Repentance, Restitution, Reparations and Restoration to heal, including the often-overlooked psycho-spiritual damage done to the psyche of enslaved African peoples,” Egbagbe said.
He added that while legal and diplomatic instruments have laid the groundwork for reparatory justice, they alone cannot fully address the generational trauma and psychological scars left by centuries of slavery.
“The world has spoken, and the legal and moral foundations are in place. The Foundation now adds the apostolic healing that legal and diplomatic instruments alone cannot supply, calling this cause to its deepest roots and seeking healing for generations affected by the wounds of slavery,” he stated.
According to him, the proclamation, titled “Dum Concordes — Est Sanatio” (“While in One Accord — There is Healing”), was deliberately released on June 18, 2026, marking 574 years since the issuance of the Papal Bull Dum Diversas, which the Foundation said provided theological justification for the enslavement of African peoples.
Egbagbe stressed that the campaign was not intended to foster hostility or blame but to promote reconciliation and justice
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“The goal is not the punishment of the guilty but the healing of the broken; not the humiliation of Europe but the restoration of Africa; not the perpetuation of grievance but the completion of justice,” he said.
As part of its proposals, the Foundation urged European governments to formally acknowledge their roles in the trans-Atlantic slave trade through parliamentary declarations and to participate in a proposed 5Rs Afro-Euro Reparations and Development Fund aimed at supporting Africa’s long-term development.
The group also appealed to African governments and traditional institutions to acknowledge internal participation in the slave trade and support initiatives designed to promote historical healing and economic transformation across the continent.
Beyond financial compensation, Egbagbe argued that reparations should focus on strategic investments capable of addressing the developmental setbacks caused by centuries of slavery and exploitation.
He proposed the establishment of maritime universities, Freedom Museums and African Institutes of Freedom in historic slave gateway nations, including Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and Sierra Leone.
The Foundation further called for a continent-wide malaria eradication programme, noting that the disease continues to claim millions of lives, particularly among African children. Egbagbe said nations that benefited from slavery should support such initiatives as part of a broader reparative justice agenda.
He also advocated structured development programmes through which former slave-trading nations would contribute to projects aimed at improving healthcare, education, infrastructure and rural development across Africa.
According to him, such interventions should not be viewed as acts of charity but as a moral and historical obligation to help reverse the social, economic and psychological consequences of more than five centuries of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
Egbagbe disclosed that the proclamation document was reviewed by Stephen Sinikiem Azaiki and members of the Foundation’s Editorial Committee, expressing hope that it would inspire a broad coalition of governments, institutions and individuals committed to what he described as “the healing of history and the restoration of human dignity.”
