Police operatives locked down the headquarters of the Arewa Consultative Forum in Kaduna on Tuesday evening.
Officers barricaded the socio-cultural organisation's secretariat along Sokoto Road. Patrol vehicles were stationed at the gates by 7 p.m.
Barrister Mamman Mike Osuman, SAN, led members of the National Executive Council scheduled to convene for an emergency session.
Osuman signed a statement titled "ACF head office under siege" that night. He accused the Board of Trustees Chairman, Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu, of exceeding his constitutional authority.
According to Osuman, he and other NWC officials were locked inside the building. He called the action "a sacrilege" against the organization.
Dalhatu fired back with his own statement rejecting the meeting as unlawful. He claimed the Secretary-General, Malam Murtala Aliyu, had no power to summon it because his tenure had expired.
Kaduna State Police Command denied sealing the office when reporters asked about it. DSP Mansur Hassan, the command's spokesman, offered a different account.
"We received two letters and intelligence reports about rival faction meetings," Hassan told the media. "Our men were deployed to prevent any breakdown of law and order in the state."
Sources described the dispute as fundamentally about leadership authority and the balance of power between the NEC and BoT.
Financial mismanagement has also fueled tensions within the group. Over N3.9 billion donated during an endowment fund drive last year remains controversial.
Insiders lamented what they see as a damaging internal war. One source expressed frustration about the timing and stakes involved.
"These eminent leaders should be speaking with one voice for the North before elections," the source said. "Instead, they're tearing the organisation apart."
Another observer noted the irony in the current situation. Northern leaders fighting amongst themselves, he said, while the region struggles with insecurity and lacks clear political direction.
Tensions had simmered for months before boiling over last weekend. General Haliru Akilu (rtd), who chairs the leadership selection committee, triggered the escalation.
Akilu announced that several BoT and NEC members had completed their terms. He listed four officials whose tenures he said had ended.
Among those affected was Secretary-General Aliyu himself. Senator Fred Orti from Benue State, Deputy Chairman of the BoT, also faced similar claims.
Yobe's Ambassador Ibrahim Mai Sule, Vice Chairman of the BoT, was also named. Senator Ibrahim Ida from Katsina State, Deputy Chairman of the NEC, rounded out the list.
The competing claims about who holds legitimate authority have paralyzed decision-making. Observers worry the crisis could weaken the ACF's influence on regional issues ahead of crucial electoral contests.
