The Arewa People's Congress (APC) is a group in Northern

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

established to protect the interests of the people of Northern extraction. It has been described as a militant wing of the

Arewa Consultative Forum The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) is a political and cultural association of leaders in Northern Nigeria formed in 2000 which has considerable influence in the political scene. (Arewa means "Northern" in Hausa, the primary language of the region.) ...

. The group was formally launched on 13 December 1999. It was chaired by a retired army officer, Captain Sagir Muhammed, who had been an operative in the Directorate of Military Intelligence. The APC has a motto ''"to preserve the indivisibility of the country"''. The group said it would begin full self-defence training for northern residents in reaction to attacks on Hausas by the

Oodua Peoples Congress The Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) is a Yoruba nationalist, regionalist, and vigilante organization in Nigeria. It is also known as the Oodua Liberation Movement (OLM) or the Revolutionary Council of Nigeria. It is based in southwestern Nigeria ...

(OPC), a Yoruba pressure group in the south. The emergence of increasingly militant groups such as the APC and OPC is one of the factors fuelling communal violence in Nigeria. The Oodua People's Congress secretary general, Kayode Ogundamisi, has blamed the APC for the ethnic violence. In January 2000 the Inspector General of police,

Musiliu Smith Alhaji Musiliu Adeola Kunbi Smith, is a former Inspector General of Police of Nigeria appointed in May 1999, who retired in March 2002 following a police strike. Early life Smith was born on April 17, 1946. He completed secondary education at Ansa ...

, announced a reward of N100,000 for

Gani Adams Chief Ganiyu Adams , popularly known as Gani Adams (born April 30, 1970), is a Nigerian activist, politician, traditional aristocrat and the 15th Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland. Early life Gani Adams was born on April 30, 1970, at Arigidi-Akoko ...

, leader of the militant youth wing of the OPC. The APC promptly raised the ransom to N300,000. Speaking to the Conference of Southern Governors in January 2001,

Chimaroke Nnamani Chimaroke Nnamani (born 30 May 1960) is a medical doctor and Nigerian politician from Enugu State. He was elected Governor of Enugu State in the 1999 Enugu State gubernatorial election from 1999 to 2007. He subsequently served as a People's De ...

, the governor of

Enugu State Enugu State ( ig, Ȯra Enugu) is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by the states of Benue and Kogi, Ebonyi State to the east and southeast, Abia State to the south, and Anambra State to the west. T ...

, said the emergence of these groups was due to the inability of the federal police to provide adequate policing due to shortage of manpower. In November 2006 Sagir Muhammed described the impeachment of

Plateau State Plateau State is the twelfth-largest Nigerian state. It is in the centre of the country includes a range of hills surrounding the Jos Plateau, its capital, and the entire plateau itself. Plateau State is described as "The Home of Peace and To ...

Governor

Chibi Joshua Dariye Joshua Chibi Dariye (born 27 July 1957) assumed office as the Governor of Plateau State, Nigeria on 29 May 1999 during the 1999 Plateau State gubernatorial election on the platform of the People's Democratic Party (PDP). He was re-elected for ...

as an affront.

References

{{Nigerian militant groups Rebel groups in Nigeria Politics of Nigeria