The Arewa Cohesion for Unity, Peace and Development Initiative (ACI) has unveiled an enforcement-driven action plan to tackle insecurity across Northern Nigeria, warning that continued killings, kidnapping and displacement are undermining the region’s economy and threatening its social stability.
The group said it would move beyond the cycle of security summits, communiqués and policy recommendations by establishing a dedicated monitoring desk to track implementation of resolutions and hold federal, state and local authorities accountable for commitments made at its security summit in Kaduna.
Abdullahi Idris, director-general, ACI, said that the initiative would also deploy trained peace and youth ambassadors and conduct quarterly engagements across the North to ensure that measures agreed at the summit translate into action at community level.
‘This initiative will endure even after this. It is not going to be a talk show where papers are presented, big grammar, and we disperse,’ Idris told participants at the summit, which had the theme, ‘United Action Against Insecurity.’
He said that the organisation would engage individual stakeholders after the summit to monitor compliance with responsibilities contained in the communiqué, covering governments, security institutions, traditional rulers, civil society organisations and community groups.
Idris argued that the North’s security crisis could not be resolved through military operations alone, warning that worsening unemployment, poverty, drug abuse, the collapse of businesses and limited opportunities for young people were creating conditions for criminal recruitment.
‘The kinetic approach that the government is using right now is okay, it’s good, it’s helpful, but it’s not enough,’ he said.
‘Any society where people cannot get employment, farmers cannot go to farm, businesses are dying, industries have collapsed, it’s a breeding ground for all sorts of anti-social behaviour.’
The ACI director-general also identified the Almajiri system as an urgent social challenge, warning that vulnerable children could become recruitment targets for insurgents and bandit groups if the system is not reformed.
He called for greater investment in education, skills development, employment and youth empowerment as part of a broader security strategy.
According to him, ACI is also changing the way it engages young people by taking its programmes directly into communities rather than relying solely on large gatherings.
‘It is more effective if you reach them where they are and you enlighten them, and you empower them, and you talk to them, and you counsel them,’ he said.
Idris described insecurity as the biggest challenge facing Northern Nigeria, saying the summit was designed to overcome ethnic, religious and political divisions that have often weakened collective action against criminality.
‘Security is everybody’s business. We are putting aside all our affiliations and looking squarely at the issue of insecurity. By the grace of God, we shall succeed,’ he said.
Security, not politics, should drive 2027 choices
Speaking as Special Guest, Muhammad Ali urged Northern Nigerians to make security, peace and good governance central issues in determining who they support in the 2027 general elections.
Ali said years of insurgency, banditry and other forms of violent crime had inflicted deep economic damage on communities, disrupting farming, education, businesses and local markets while forcing residents from their homes.
He criticised what he described as largely reactive responses to insecurity, arguing that temporary interventions would not solve problems rooted in poverty, unemployment, weak institutions and social exclusion.
With the 2027 elections approaching, he challenged citizens to demand greater accountability from political leaders and reject electoral choices based primarily on ethnic, religious or partisan considerations.
He said leaders who failed to protect lives and property should be held accountable at the ballot box.
‘The region should prioritise leaders capable of restoring safety, justice and economic stability,’ Ali said, while urging voters to reject politics driven by ethnic divisions, partisan interests and short-term incentives.
A shift from communiqués to monitoring
The summit resolved to strengthen cooperation among governments, traditional institutions, religious leaders, civil society organisations, youth groups, women organisations and local communities in confronting kidnapping, killings and displacement.
Participants also committed to sustaining dialogue and developing practical interventions aimed at addressing both the immediate security threat and its underlying social and economic drivers.
ACI said its monitoring desk would commence operations immediately, while quarterly community engagements would be held across Northern Nigeria.
The initiative signals an attempt by civil society actors in the region to shift the security debate from emergency responses to sustained accountability, prevention and socio-economic intervention, particularly as insecurity continues to constrain agriculture, investment, mobility and livelihoods across the north.