Kaduna — The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has condemned the sealing of its national secretariat in Kaduna by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, describing the action as unlawful and without justification.
In a statement issued Tuesday, the Forum’s National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Tukur A. Muhammad-Baba, said the premises were shut ahead of the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting scheduled for Wednesday, May 6, 2026.
Muhammad-Baba suggested that the police action may be connected to an unsigned circular allegedly linked to Bashir Dalhatu, Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT), which claimed the NEC meeting had been cancelled on the grounds that it was convened by the Secretary-General.
He rejected the claim, stressing that the Forum was unaware of any court order restraining it from holding meetings or performing its constitutional duties.
“First, the ACF is unaware of any court order against it nor any curtailing its functions. Second, it needs to be reiterated that the Chairman, BoT, has no authority whatsoever over any function outside of Section 8 of the ACF Constitution,” he said.
The Forum maintained that both the NEC meeting and an earlier National Working Committee (NWC) meeting were duly convened by its Chairman, Mamman Mike Osuman, in line with the organisation’s constitution.
“The meetings are being called at the instance of the Chairman and not the Secretary-General, irrespective of current arguments about the latter’s tenure,” the statement added.
ACF further disclosed that the NWC meeting held earlier on Tuesday without disruption, noting that relevant security agencies had been formally notified ahead of the gatherings.
The Forum called on the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, to urgently intervene by directing the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police to unseal the secretariat.
It warned that there was no legal basis for the action, especially as delegates had already arrived in Kaduna for the NEC meeting.
“There is absolutely no basis for sealing the office unless, of course, there are some unstated motives,” the statement said, expressing hope that “rationality and good judgement will prevail.”
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