ACF Dismisses Claims of Endorsing Amnesty for Terrorists, Bandits

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has strongly refuted claims circulating on social media that it endorsed amnesty and payments to terrorists and bandits, similar to the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s amnesty program for Niger Delta militants. 

The organisation described the reports as misleading and mischievous.  

In a statement issued on Sunday, November 30, 2025, by its National Publicity Secretary, Prof. T. A. Muhammad-Baba, the ACF said the insinuations stemmed from a video clip trending online, which distorted comments made by Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu, Wazirin Dutse and Chairman of the Forum’s Board of Trustees, during a recent interview with Arise News.  

According to Prof. Muhammad-Baba, the viral clip was “taken out of context, truncated and mischievously abstracted to reach predetermined conclusions,” and was being circulated by “clandestine and shadowy individuals or groups.” He stressed that the full interview remains available on digital platforms for anyone interested in hearing Dalhatu’s complete remarks.  

The ACF clarified that Dalhatu spoke largely in his personal capacity during the interview, only occasionally referencing official perspectives. Prof. Muhammad-Baba noted that Dalhatu had “assertively and emphatically condemned the spate of terrorist activities in Nigeria and West Africa” and called for the “total annihilation of terrorists and bandits” to end insecurity in the country.  

The Forum further explained that Dalhatu’s reference to the Niger Delta Amnesty Program was not an endorsement of payments to bandits, but rather an illustration that government should consider both kinetic and non-kinetic approaches to tackling insecurity. “He did not categorically propose the unadulterated application of the same pathway,” Muhammad-Baba said, adding that any suggestion otherwise was merely opinion.  

Prof. Muhammad-Baba also stressed that Dalhatu never attributed terrorism or banditry to ethnicity, religion, or other primordial characteristics. He described contrary interpretations as “vile reactions of mischievous, clandestine and shadowy groups or individuals.”  

Reaffirming its position, the ACF declared: “At no time has the organisation called for any amnesty in favour of terrorists or bandits and therefore rejects, in its entirety, any insinuation to the contrary.”  

The Forum pledged continued support to the Federal Government and security agencies in their efforts to eradicate terrorism and banditry. “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,” Muhammad-Baba concluded.

×