The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has warned that Nigeria’s worsening security situation has escalated to what it described as a “state of war,” urging the Federal Government to adopt urgent and extraordinary measures to address the crisis.
The position was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the forum’s 38th Board of Trustees meeting held in Abuja, where prominent northern leaders deliberated on the country’s security challenges.
According to the group, the scale and persistence of violence across the country have gone beyond insurgency, banditry, and communal clashes, evolving into a broader crisis threatening national stability and survival.
The communiqué stated that the situation now demands a fundamental shift in national priorities, warning that the human and economic toll of the violence has become severe.
“The scale, persistence and human cost of violence demand a fundamental shift in national priorities,” the forum said, stressing that the crisis should be treated as an overriding national emergency.
The ACF further noted that hundreds of thousands of Nigerians have been killed or displaced across several states, including Borno, Plateau, Niger, and Kwara, with members of the armed forces also among the casualties.
It added that the insecurity has significantly disrupted economic activities, particularly agriculture in northern Nigeria, leading to supply chain challenges, rising inflation, and the collapse of rural livelihoods.
Calling for decisive action, the forum urged the government to adopt what it described as a “war-time approach,” including redirecting national resources toward security and scaling down non-essential projects.
“Extraordinary threats require extraordinary measures,” the communiqué noted, emphasizing that restoring security must take precedence over other national concerns.
The group warned that Nigeria is at a critical juncture, stressing that continued insecurity threatens not only lives but also the country’s future, and called for immediate, coordinated, and comprehensive efforts to restore peace nationwide.