US Congress Pressures Tinubu Government to Scrap Sharia Law, Disband Hisbah Commissions
The United States Congress is intensifying pressure on the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu to declare the Sharia legal system in Nigeria’s 12 northern states unconstitutional and dismantle the regional religious-police bodies known as Hisbah Commission.
The demand emerged during a joint congressional briefing following the official classification of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” over alleged systematic persecution of Christians. Witnesses, including top experts on African affairs, argued that Sharia law, along with enforcement by Hisbah operatives, has been exploited by extremist groups and militant networks to target religious minorities, enforce forced conversions, and carry out violence with near-total impunity.
One of the leading voices at the session, Ebenezer Obadare of the Council on Foreign Relations, said the so-called legal-religious architecture has enabled radical elements, including Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and radicalised herder militias, to operate unchecked across northern Nigeria. He noted that recent interventions by the federal government, such as air strikes against insurgents, recruitment of more police personnel, and a nationwide security emergency declaration, were reactions to the escalating crisis. But, he warned, “much more needs to be done.”
According to the congressional recommendation, the U.S. pressure should follow a two-fold strategy: one, to help neutralise terrorist and insurgent capacity via security cooperation; and two, to push for legal reforms that abolish Sharia as a criminal code and disband Hisbah commissions to restore equal protection under secular law.
Advocates argue the reforms are crucial to ending what they say is effectively a form of “religious cleansing,” especially in areas where Christians and non-Muslims have allegedly faced disproportionate violence, arrests, and even death sentences tied to blasphemy or apostasy charges under Sharia.
As international pressure mounts, the development marks a critical moment for the Tinubu administration, which has, so far, responded by reaffirming Nigeria’s commitment to religious freedom while promising to tackle security threats.