ACF protests police sealing of its headquarters
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has protested the sealing of its national headquarters in Kaduna by personnel of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF). The forum described the action as illegal
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has protested the sealing of its national headquarters in Kaduna by personnel of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
The forum described the action as illegal and unjustified.
It said the development occurred ahead of its scheduled National Executive Council (NEC) meeting billed for today.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Tukur Muhammad-Baba, the ACF expressed surprise over the police action, saying no official reason was given for the closure.
The forum linked the move to an unsigned circular allegedly attributed to the Chairman of its Board of Trustees (BoT), Bashir Dalhatu, suggesting that the NEC meeting had been cancelled.
ACF maintained that it was unaware of any court order or directive restricting its activities or authorising the police to seal its office.
“ACF is not aware of any court order against it or any directive curtailing its functions,” the statement said.
The forum explained that both the NEC meeting and an earlier National Working Committee (NWC) meeting were duly convened by its Chairman, Mamman Osuman, in line with the provisions of its constitution.
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According to the forum, the meetings were called under Section 20(3) and Section 13(3)(c) of its constitution, dismissing claims that the Secretary-General acted outside his powers.
It insisted that the BoT chairman has no authority over the convening of such meetings beyond the limits provided in Section 8 of the constitution.
The forum described the police action as baseless, stressing that security agencies, including the police, had been duly notified of the meetings, adding that the NWC meeting held earlier in the day went on without any incident.
ACF urged the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to direct the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police to immediately unseal its headquarters, warning that the continued closure could disrupt its scheduled NEC meeting, as delegates had already arrived in Kaduna.
It expressed hope that “rationality and good judgement” would prevail in resolving the situation.
Also, the Kaduna Police Command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mansir Hassan, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), told our correspondent that the police did not seal the ACF headquarters but deployed its men to prevent breakdown of law and order at the forum’s headquarters and in Kaduna.
He said: “We have not sealed the ACF headquarters. What we simply did was deployment of our personnel to the place to prevent breakdown of law and order. This is because we have received letters from two factions of the ACF leadership, suggesting that they have both fixed a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting at the headquarters, for same time on Wednesday, May 6.
“So, as a law enforcement agency, the police cannot fold their arms and watch the two factions to clash.
“This, according to an intelligence report at our disposal, is capable of threatening the peace being enjoyed in Kaduna. That is why we had to deploy our men there,” Hassan said.
