The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) on Wednesday warned that Nigeria’s worsening insecurity has escalated to a “state of war,” urging the Federal Government to adopt urgent and extraordinary measures to tackle the crisis.
The warning came as six soldiers and a woman were killed in a fresh Boko Haram attack on a military formation in Mussa community, Askira-Uba Local Government Area of Borno State.
Rising from its 38th Board meeting in Abuja, the forum, in a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting presided over by its Chairman, Bashir Dalhatu, said the country’s security challenges had gone beyond insurgency, banditry and communal clashes to a full-scale war threatening national survival.
The ACF stated that the scale, persistence and human cost of the violence demanded a fundamental shift in national priorities, stressing that the situation should be treated as an overriding national emergency.
It lamented that hundreds of thousands of Nigerians had been killed or displaced across states including Borno, Plateau, Niger and Kwara, noting that victims also included members of the armed forces.
According to the forum, the humanitarian impact of the crisis has left families devastated, livelihoods destroyed and communities traumatised, while the nation’s economy continues to suffer severe setbacks.
The group further warned that insecurity was crippling agricultural activities, particularly in northern Nigeria, disrupting supply chains and worsening inflation.
It therefore called on the Federal Government to adopt a “war-time approach,” including the temporary suspension or scaling down of non-essential projects in order to channel resources toward addressing insecurity.
The forum stressed that while development remained important, restoring security must take priority, warning that Nigeria stands at a critical crossroads as the escalating crisis threatens the country’s stability and future.
It added that until citizens can live, work and travel without fear, meaningful national progress would remain unattainable, urging decisive and comprehensive action to secure the country without delay.
Meanwhile, a United States lawmaker, Kimberly Daniels, alongside a coalition of international diplomats, also called on President Bola Tinubu to review the country’s defence leadership following a series of deadly attacks on Christian communities during the 2026 Easter celebration.
Other prominent northern leaders at the meeting included former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mahmud Yayale Ahmed; former Inspector General of Police, Mohammed D. Abubakar; former Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Yusufu Buratai; and former President of the United Nations General Assembly, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande.
