Nigeria Cannot Defeat Terrorism Amid Official Cover-Ups, Says Olawepo- Hashim
A presidential hopeful, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has accused the Nigerian government and elements within the security apparatus of complicity in the nation’s worsening security challenges.
In a statement yesterday by his media office, Olawepo-Hashim warned that, “Terrorism and mass kidnappings cannot be defeated amid official denials, suppression of facts, and intimidation of affected communities.”
He had reacted to the January 18 abduction of 166 worshippers in an attack on three churches in Kurmin Wali community in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
The Kaduna State police commissioner Muhammad Rabiu, the council chairman of Kajuru LGA, Dauda Madaki and the Kaduna state commissioner for internal security and home affairs, Sule Shu’aibu, SAN, had earlier denied that the incident did not occur before the force headquarters of the Nigerian Police confirmed it.
“The denial exposed a troubling and increasingly common pattern in Nigeria’s security management, the suppression of information rather than decisive action.
“No matter the level of international action against terrorism, Nigeria will not get results as long as local authorities are compromised and complicit,” he said.
He described the initial handling of the incident as a “calculated attempt to erase a crime,” arguing that it reflected a system that now treats truth as a liability instead of a foundation for effective security response.
The PDP chieftain also raised concerns over the alleged intimidation of the community, noting that the affected populations were often pressured into silence rather than protected by authorities.
