The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has refuted claims that it endorsed amnesty and financial incentives for terrorists and bandits operating across northern Nigeria.

In a sharply worded statement released on Monday, the ACF dismissed the allegation sparked by a viral video clip from an interview granted to ARISE News by its Board of Trustees Chairman, Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu.

The video had implied that the ACF was recommending a strategy similar to the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s Amnesty programme for Niger Delta militants.

But the ACF dismissed the interpretation as a deliberate attempt by “clandestine and shadowy individuals or groups” to mislead the public.

According to the statement signed by the organisation’s National Publicity Secretary, Prof. T. A. Muhammad-Baba, Dalhatu’s remarks were selectively edited.

“The piece in circulation was truncated and mischievously abstracted to reach some predetermined conclusion(s),” the forum stated.

It added that “the full interview is available on digital platforms” for anyone seeking accurate context.

The ACF emphasised that Dalhatu’s comments were largely personal reflections, not an official position of the forum.

“Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu spoke mostly in his personal capacity,” the organisation clarified, stressing that only “sporadic” references touched on broader northern perspectives.

The group also highlighted that Dalhatu had opened the interview by firmly condemning terrorism in Nigeria and West Africa.

The ACF said he “assertively and emphatically condemned the spate of terrorist activities” and called for “the total annihilation of the terrorists and bandits” to restore security in the region.

While Dalhatu referenced the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme, the ACF said the comparison was misrepresented in the viral clip.

His intention, the forum explained, was to underscore the need for government to explore “all kinetic and non-kinetic pathways” in combating insecurity an approach that could include lessons from Yar’Adua’s strategy but not a blanket replication.

“He did not categorically propose the unadulterated application of the same pathway,” the statement noted, insisting that anyone pushing that narrative was merely expressing an opinion.

The ACF further rejected claims that Dalhatu or the forum attributed the crisis to any ethnic or religious group.

“Nowhere in the interview did Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu refer to the terrorists and bandits with their primordial characteristics such as ethnicity, religion, etc.” the statement stressed, calling contrary interpretations “vile reactions” driven by mischief.

The ACF declared its position “categorically and unambiguously clear,” stating: “At no time has the organisation called for any amnesty in favour of any terrorists or bandits.”

The forum reaffirmed its support for federal authorities and security agencies “in their various endeavours to stamp out the scourge of terrorism and banditry in Nigeria.”