The leadership crisis rocking the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has deepened following allegations by its Chairman, Maman Mike Osuman, SAN, that armed individuals invaded the organisation’s national secretariat in Kaduna, broke into offices and carted away valuables.
Osuman, in a petition to the Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, accused two individuals, identified as Munir Mustapha and Bukar Zarma, of forcibly entering the ACF national headquarters at No. 11A Sokoto Road, Kaduna, without the consent or knowledge of the Forum’s leadership.
The petition, dated November 9, 2026, and copied to the Inspector-General of Police, Kaduna State Commissioner of Police and Director of the Department of State Services (DSS) in the state, alleged that the individuals broke through the gates and office doors, changed the locks and removed valuables and other properties belonging to the organisation.
The ACF chairman further alleged that the operation was carried out without a search warrant, describing the development as a serious breach of the sanctity of the Forum’s corporate headquarters.
“An invasion of this nature not only violates the sanctity of our corporate headquarters but is also a direct assault on the dignity of the entire Northern Region,” Osuman said in the petition.
He warned that the alleged invasion was capable of further aggravating the internal crisis within the organisation, particularly amid the lingering disagreement over its leadership and control of the national secretariat.
Osuman appealed to Governor Uba Sani to intervene in the matter, urging him to deploy his good offices to ensure that the rule of law prevailed and that the Forum was protected from actions capable of undermining its stability.
He maintained that the national secretariat represented the collective heritage of Northern Nigeria, stressing that its protection was essential to preserving the dignity, institutional integrity and unity of the organisation.
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The petition also called for the intervention of relevant security agencies to investigate the alleged invasion and ensure that those responsible were held accountable in accordance with the law.
The latest development comes amid a prolonged leadership tussle within the ACF, which has been characterised by competing claims of authority, disagreements over the organisation’s constitution and divisions among its influential members.
The crisis escalated in May 2026 when the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Forum suspended its Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman, Alhaji Bashir M. Dalhatu, over alleged breaches of the organisation’s constitution.
The suspension followed an emergency NEC meeting in Kaduna amid tension over reported police restrictions on access to the ACF headquarters ahead of the gathering.
However, the ACF Board of Trustees swiftly rejected the suspension of Dalhatu, describing it as “illegal, unconstitutional and a desperate attempt to destabilise” the northern socio-political organisation.
The opposing positions of the NEC and BoT further widened the divisions within the Forum, exposing the depth of the disagreement over the legitimacy of its leadership and the authority to manage its affairs.
With the latest allegation of an invasion of the national secretariat, the crisis appears to have shifted beyond the contest for leadership to the contentious issue of control of the organisation’s headquarters and its assets.
The allegations by Osuman are yet to be independently established as of the time of filing this report.
