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Presidential candidate of the Accord Party, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has warned that Nigeria could face an increased threat from ISIS-linked terrorists if President Bola Tinubu returns to office after the 2027 election.
Olawepo-Hashim made the statement during an interview with newsmen in Abuja on Sunday while expressing concerns over the spread of terrorism and banditry across parts of northern Nigeria.
The Accord candidate described Tinubu as a national security risk and argued that the country’s security challenges had developed beyond isolated attacks to a wider threat to the authority of the Nigerian state.
“Nigeria is at risk of falling into the hands of ISIS if Tinubu returns to office,” he warned.
Olawepo-Hashim claimed that more than 30,000 people had been killed by terrorism under the Tinubu administration. He also alleged that terrorists and bandits had expanded their influence into rural communities across 17 of the 19 northern states.
He further claimed that armed groups were exercising forms of parallel authority in some communities, including collecting taxes from residents.
According to him, these developments threaten Nigeria’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty and require a fundamental rethink of the country’s security strategy.
The Accord candidate said the situation should not be treated solely as a conventional security challenge, arguing that the government must prevent armed groups from becoming alternative centres of authority in communities.
Olawepo-Hashim proposed the creation of a National Guard as part of his response if elected president in 2027.
He said the proposed force would be part of a broader restructuring of Nigeria’s internal security architecture and would focus on insurgency and other serious threats that go beyond the capacity of the regular police.
The National Guard proposal is not new to Olawepo-Hashim. He had previously advocated an intermediate security force positioned between the military and police to handle major internal security operations.
He argued that Nigeria’s security agencies require a different structure capable of responding more effectively to terrorism, banditry and other armed threats while strengthening state authority in vulnerable communities.
His latest comments come amid ongoing security operations against terrorists, bandits and other armed groups in different parts of Nigeria.
