US Congress Urged to Demand Abolition of Sharia Law in Northern Nigeria

US Congress Urged to Demand Abolition of Sharia Law in Northern Nigeria

American lawmakers have been urged to pressure the Nigerian government to abolish Sharia law in northern Nigeria and dismantle the Hisbah religious-enforcement bodies, following warnings that both systems are worsening anti-Christian persecution across the region.

At a joint congressional briefing organised by the US House Appropriations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Dr. Ebenezer Obadare, Senior Fellow for Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, told legislators that extremist groups are exploiting local religious structures to fuel violence and entrench impunity.

Obadare said Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and radicalised 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 issued by the Appropriations Committee, Obadare recommended a two-pronged US policy intervention.
He said Washington should work with Nigeria’s military to neutralise Boko Haram while also applying pressure on President Bola Tinubu “to make Sharia law unconstitutional in the 12 northern states where it has been operational since 2000 and to disband the various Hisbah groups imposing Islamic law on citizens irrespective of their religious identity.”

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He acknowledged that Abuja has shown sensitivity to international pressure, citing recent air strikes against insurgents, the recruitment of 30,000 additional police officers, and President Tinubu’s declaration of a national security emergency.

“As recent events have shown, the Nigerian authorities are not impervious to incentives,” he said. “Washington must keep up the pressure.”

The bipartisan session, chaired by Appropriations Vice Chair Mario Díaz-Balart, featured testimony alleging elements of state complicity in what some lawmakers described as religious cleansing in northern Nigeria and the Middle Belt.

Witnesses referenced recent incidents, including the November abduction of pupils and teachers from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Niger State, along with a pattern of blasphemy prosecutions and mass killings.

Obadare warned that “the deadliest and most serious threat confronting the Nigerian state today is jihadist terror,” stressing that any viable solution must prioritise crippling Boko Haram’s operational capacity.

“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,” he said.

US Congress Urged to Demand Abolition of Sharia Law in Northern Nigeria