Former presidential candidate Gbenga Hashim has sounded a fresh alarm over what he described as the Federal Government’s “loss of operational control” over security in Northern Nigeria, following a series of deadly terrorist attacks in Kwara and Kebbi States.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Hashim highlighted the killing of two security operatives in Rogun Village, Kpada District, Patigi Local Government Area, Kwara State, as evidence that terrorists now operate “without fear of the state” across the region.

The attack on the Rogun police outpost occurred on Sunday night, with terrorists engaging officers in a prolonged gunfight before overwhelming the facility. This incident came just days after 25 schoolgirls were abducted and a vice principal murdered in Kebbi State, alongside the killing of a senior Customs officer in Bagudo LGA.

“These coordinated attacks demonstrate a nation sliding toward total collapse,” Hashim said. “From Niger to Zamfara, Kaduna to Plateau, Bauchi to Kebbi, and now Kwara, terrorists set the rhythm of life in far too many communities. The Federal Government has lost control.”

He described the Patigi attack as particularly alarming, noting that the Middle Belt corridor had historically been considered relatively stable. Hashim warned that the incident signals a dangerous expansion of terrorist activity and reflects “a total failure of intelligence and policing.”

“What we are witnessing is a quiet surrender of northern Nigeria to non-state actors. Rural communities are under siege, schools are unsafe, and police posts have become battlefields. This is not governance; this is abandonment,” he said.

Hashim also referenced reports of a serving military general being ambushed after terrorists allegedly intercepted his communications, insisting this demonstrates that insurgents now possess “advanced capability and extraordinary daring.”

“If terrorists can attack a police outpost in Kwara and kill officers without consequence, what hope remains for villagers? If 25 girls can be taken in Kebbi without immediate rescue, what does government mean?” he questioned.

He stressed that effe”tive state authority is now largely limited to state capitals, while “vast rural territories have fallen under the shadow of armed groups.”

“Outside the state capitals, sovereignty is collapsing. Villages are governed by fear, by bandits, by terrorists. The silence from those in power is complicity. Many villagers now pay taxes to terrorists,” he lamented.

Hashim condoled with families affected by the Kwara and Kebbi attacks and called for an urgent national response, including a radical overhaul of Nigeria’s security architecture.

“Unless drastic steps are taken now, Nigeria risks entering a new and uncontrollable phase of disintegration,” he warned. (Vanguard)