Ahead of the 2027 presidential election, Accord Party presidential candidate Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim has pledged to establish a national framework to protect Christians, Muslims, and adherents of minority faiths, positioning religious freedom as a core pillar of national security and conflict prevention. ​
The presidential hopeful outlined his policy proposals in a formal brief submitted to the United States Congress and the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) on Wednesday, November 11, 2026. ​Olawepo-Hashim urged the international community and domestic policymakers to treat religious freedom not merely as a human rights issue, but as a direct instrument of national security.
Addressing the persecution of religious groups across Nigeria, he acknowledged the severe, ongoing violence against Christian communities in northern and central regions, where churches have been burned, villages destroyed, and pastors killed. However, he cautioned against framing the country’s crisis strictly along Christian-versus-Muslim lines. ​
He emphasized that Shi’ite Muslims, minority Islamic sects, and Hausa Muslim communities also face systemic persecution, discrimination, and violence. According to the Accord Party flagbearer, framing the crisis as a unified front of all victims against violent extremism is vital to preserving national unity, whereas a binary narrative risks further dividing the country.
​Highlighting the systemic cycle of insecurity, Olawepo-Hashim warned that unpunished violent attacks lead directly to community breakdown. He noted that when citizens are denied the freedom to worship without fear and perpetrators act with impunity, local communities form defense militias, which ultimately become recruitment grounds for extremist organisations.
To break this cycle, he proposed that protecting a church in Plateau, a Shia mosque in Kaduna, or a Hausa cultural center in Kebbi must be prioritized to stop extremism before it takes root. ​As part of his electoral platform, Olawepo-Hashim pledged to introduce comprehensive legislation within his first 180 days in office to criminalise religious persecution, establish an independent commission to investigate religious violence and compensate victims, and systematically dismantle terror groups such as Boko Haram, ISWAP, Ansaru, and armed bandit networks.
​He also called for an international conference involving the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union, the United States, and other global stakeholders to enhance intelligence sharing, regional border security, and counter-extremism operations.
Concluding his presentation, Olawepo-Hashim stressed that ensuring free, fair, and transparent elections in 2027, devoid of religious incitement, intimidation, or electoral violence, remains essential to restoring public trust and safeguarding Nigeria’s democratic future.
