ACF Denies Endorsing Amnesty for Terrorists, Says Viral Video Was Distorted

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has strongly denied widespread social media claims suggesting it endorsed amnesty or financial payouts for terrorists and bandits operating in parts of the country.

In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Prof. T. A. Muhammad-Baba, the northern sociopolitical body described the reports as false, misleading, and the product of a “truncated and mischievously abstracted” video clip circulating online.

According to Muhammad-Baba, the clip was extracted from a recent television interview granted by the Chairman of the ACF Board of Trustees, Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu, but was deliberately taken out of context to convey a predetermined narrative being pushed by “clandestine and shadowy individuals or group(s).”

He clarified that Dalhatu’s remarks in the interview were largely personal opinions, intermittently touching on broader perspectives, and should not be misconstrued as the official position of the forum.

“First, Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu spoke mostly in his personal capacity, only sporadically alluding to official perspectives,” the statement noted.

Muhammad-Baba explained that in the full interview—unlike what the viral clip suggests—Dalhatu unequivocally condemned terrorist activities across the country and called for the “total annihilation of terrorists and bandits within the shortest period possible.”

He said Dalhatu’s reference to the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s Niger Delta amnesty programme was meant only to illustrate that governments sometimes deploy both kinetic and non-kinetic strategies when dealing with complex security challenges. It was not, he stressed, an endorsement of replicating the same model for terrorists.

“He did not categorically propose the unadulterated application of the same pathway,” Muhammad-Baba said, adding that the chairman merely acknowledged that Nigerians are entitled to express diverse opinions on potential solutions to insecurity.

The ACF further dismissed claims that Dalhatu made ethnic or religious references in his commentary, describing such interpretations as “vile reactions” born out of mischief.

Given what it called “the gravity of the allegation,” the forum said it deemed it necessary to publicly set the record straight.

“ACF hereby makes it categorically and unambiguously clear that at no time has the organisation called for any amnesty in favour of any terrorists or bandits,” the statement declared.

Reaffirming its long-standing position on national security, the forum pledged continued support for the federal government and security agencies.

“As always, ACF pledges full and unalloyed support to the Government and the security agencies in their various endeavours to stamp out the scourge of terrorism and banditry in Nigeria,” it added.