US Lawmakers Urged To Press Nigeria To Abolish Sharia Law And Dissolve Hisbah Groups
United States lawmakers were urged on Tuesday to exert stronger pressure on the Nigerian government to abolish Sharia law in the northern states where it is enforced and to dismantle the Hisbah religious enforcement groups. Experts warned that these institutions continue to fuel systematic persecution of Christians and other minority communities. Speaking at a joint House briefing convened following President Donald Trump’s directive and Nigeria’s designation as a Country of Particular Concern, Dr. Ebenezer Obadare of the Council on Foreign Relations said extremist groups—including Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and radicalised Fulani militias—exploit Sharia frameworks and Hisbah operatives to spread extremist ideology, force religious conversions, and carry out attacks with little resistance. Obadare recommended a two-pronged approach for the United States: working closely with the Nigerian military to neutralise Boko Haram while simultaneously urging President Bola Tinubu to declare Sharia unconstitutional in the twelve northern states that adopted it in 2000 and to disband Hisbah groups across the region. He noted that international pressure can be effective. Since Nigeria’s CPC designation and Trump’s warning of possible unilateral action against Boko Haram, Tinubu has authorised airstrikes on insurgent positions, approved the recruitment of 30,000 additional police officers, and declared a national security emergency. Despite these measures, Obadare stressed that they remain insufficient and that sustained engagement from Washington is essential. The bipartisan briefing, led by Appropriations Vice Chair Mario Díaz-Balart and attended by members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, emphasised that the Nigerian government has largely failed to confront what lawmakers described as religious cleansing in the north and Middle Belt. Witnesses cited incidents including the November 22 kidnapping of pupils and teachers from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State, ongoing prosecutions under blasphemy laws, and repeated mass killings, rejecting claims that the crisis is solely about land and resource disputes. Obadare argued that the root of the problem lies in unchecked jihadist violence, with Boko Haram’s campaign to dismantle the Nigerian state and impose an Islamic order continuing to threaten national stability. He concluded that defeating the insurgent groups must be the top priority for any meaningful solution.
