The Middle Belt Forum (MBF) has strongly opposed the decision by Northern governors to contribute N1 billion monthly each toward the establishment of the Northern Nigeria Security Trust Fund (NNSTF). In a statement issued in Kaduna, MBF Spokesman Luka Binniyat argued that instead of creating another regional fund, individual governors should use their state’s resources to directly strengthen security within their own domains.

While the forum expressed support for state policing and sincere counter-terrorism efforts, it condemned the huge monthly financial commitment to a centralized fund. The MBF highlighted that the Middle Belt has suffered the highest human and material losses from years of violence, yet the Northern States Governors’ Forum has rarely spoken with one voice to condemn the repeated massacres of its communities.

THENEWSCREDIT reports that the  group further alleged that the NNSTF is a designed initiative by core northern interests, specifically the Sokoto Caliphate and Borno Sultanate, to promote sectional agendas. The MBF expressed deep concern that the pooled resources could eventually be used to rehabilitate "repentant" terrorists and bandits, leaving the actual victims of violence to suffer without any state support.

Rejecting the geopolitical concept of a unified "Northern region," the MBF described it as an exploitative colonial creation that legally died with the abolition of regional government in 1966. The forum declared that the continued membership of Middle Belt governors in the Northern governors` body is unpopular, lacks legal backing, and is unacceptable to the majority of its people.

The MBF announced plans to challenge the legality of the monthly N1 billion withdrawals in court, insisting that such massive funds belong to local development. The forum advised that if states can afford N1 billion monthly, the money should be invested in local intelligence, communication equipment, and community-led first lines of defense.

Additionally, the forum urged that these resources be directed toward rebuilding destroyed villages, rehabilitating schools and hospitals, and permanently resettling thousands of displaced families living in IDP camps. The statement emphasized that lasting peace requires justice, accountability, and the prosecution of criminals rather than financial pooling.

Concluding the statement, the MBF called on all Middle Belt governors to stay out of the security fund and urged citizens within the region to raise their voices in protest. The forum maintained that every state must invest its resources directly in protecting its own people and restoring hope to communities that have paid the highest price for insecurity.