US lawmakers urged to pressure Nigeria to abolish Sharia Law, disband Hisbah
United States lawmakers have been urged to prevail on the Nigerian government to abolish Sharia law in the 12 northern states where it currently operates and disband the religious enforcement corps Hisbah, as both systems according to experts, are deepening religious intolerance in the country.
Senior Fellow for Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, Dr. Ebenezer Obadare, made the case at a joint congressional briefing convened by the House Appropriations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Obadare noted that extremist groups are exploiting local religious structures to perpetrate violence and impunity, adding that the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and Fulani militias “weaponise Sharia-based institutions and Hisbah operatives to advance extremist ideology, enforce forced conversions, and operate unchecked in many communities.”
According to a statement by the Appropriations Committee, Obadare was quoted to have said: “The policy goal should be two-fold: first, work with the Nigerian military to neutralise Boko Haram. Second, the United States should put pressure on President Tinubu to make Sharia law unconstitutional in the twelve northern states where they have been adopted since 2000 and to disband the various Hisbah groups across northern states seeking to impose Islamic law on all citizens regardless of their religious identity.”
He noted that the Nigerian government has responded to international pressure, with President Bola Tinubu’s recent declaration of a national security emergency, bombardment of Boko Haram enclaves in Borno State by the Nigerian army, and the plan to recruit 20,000 additional police personnel by the Nigeria Police Force.
“As recent events have shown, the Nigerian authorities are not impervious to incentives. Washington must keep up the pressure,” Obadare said.
There were testimonies alleging state complicity in what some lawmakers described as “religious cleansing” in northern Nigeria and the Middle Belt, during the bipartisan session, chaired by Appropriations Vice Chairman Mario Díaz-Balart.
The November abduction of pupils and teachers from St Mary’s Catholic School in Niger State and several cases of mass killings and persecutions resulting from alleged blasphemy were highlighted by witnesses.
Obadare warned further about the terror unleashed by Boko Haram: “the deadliest and most serious threat confronting the Nigerian state today is jihadist terror.
“Every proposal to solve the Nigerian crisis that does not take seriously the need to radically degrade and ultimately eliminate Boko Haram as a fighting force is a non-starter.”
