The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has accused the Nigeria Police of illegally sealing its Kaduna headquarters ahead of its planned National Executive Council (NEC) meeting scheduled for Wednesday.

In a statement issued on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Prof. T. A. Muhammad-Baba, the forum said police personnel sealed off the office “for no apparent reason.”

The statement said the only explanation linked to the action was “a short unsigned circular but attributed to Bashir Dalhatu, Chairman of the ACF Board of Trustees (BOT), ostensibly that the said meeting has been cancelled because it was called by the Forum’s Secretary General.”

The ACF said it was unaware of any court order restricting its activities or meetings.

“First, the ACF is unaware of any court order against it nor any curtailing its functions,” the statement said.

The forum also challenged the authority of the Chairman of its Board of Trustees over the issue, saying: “Second, it needs to be reiterated that as Chairman, BOT, has, unequivocally, no authority whatsoever, over any function outside of Section 8 of the ACF Constitution.”

According to the statement, the NEC meeting and an earlier National Working Committee meeting were convened by ACF Chairman, Mamman Osuman, SAN, in line with provisions of the organisation’s constitution.

“Simply stated, 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,” it added.

The forum called on the Inspector General of Police, Tunji Disu, to direct the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police to reopen the office.

“This is therefore to urgently request the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Tunji Disu to call the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police to unseal the ACF’s Headquarters,” the statement said.

The ACF maintained that there was no security concern surrounding the gathering, noting that the earlier National Working Committee meeting “held without an incidence.”

“There is, therefore, absolutely no basis for sealing the office unless, of course, there are some unstated motives,” the statement added.

The forum also disclosed that delegates had already arrived in Kaduna ahead of the NEC meeting and expressed hope that “rationality and good judgement will prevail over its affairs.”

Faridah Abdulkadiri