I tried something on a hunch and was able to figure out a solution for this. You have to > redirect the command to /dev/tty0 ( console )
example: setting to blank screen after 1 minute of inactivity
/usr/bin/setterm --blank 1 > /dev/tty0
I tested adding this to startup to blank the screen on an x86_64 device after 1 minute of inactivity. It works. 
FYI @ OP Asgard11926