American lawmakers have been urged to pressure the Nigerian government to abolish Sharia law in northern states and dismantle the religious-enforcement Hisbah commissions, amid warnings that these structures are fuelling anti-Christian persecution.
Speaking on Tuesday, December 2, at a joint briefing of the House Appropriations and House Foreign Affairs Committees, Dr. Ebenezer Obadare, Senior Fellow for Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, said extremist groups are exploiting Sharia systems and Hisbah operatives to advance radical ideology and enforce forced conversions.
Obadare identified Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and radicalised Fulani militants as the primary drivers of violence, telling lawmakers these groups operate with “near-total impunity” under the cover of religious enforcement.
A statement from the Appropriations Committee said Obadare outlined a two-pronged strategy to curb the killings: supporting the Nigerian military to “neutralise Boko Haram” and pressing President Bola Tinubu to declare Sharia law unconstitutional in the 12 northern states where it has been implemented since 2000, while also disbanding all Hisbah groups.
He noted that recent government actions show Abuja responds to firm U.S. pressure. “The Nigerian authorities are not impervious to incentives,” he said. “Washington must keep up the pressure.”
The bipartisan briefing, led by Appropriations Vice Chair Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL), also featured lawmakers accusing the Nigerian government of complicity in what they described as “religious cleansing” across the north and Middle Belt.
