A Senior Fellow from the Council on Foreign Relations has implored United States lawmakers to exert significant pressure on the Nigerian government to abolish Sharia law across the twelve northern states where it is currently operational. The expert also called for the dismantling of the state-backed religious enforcement commissions known as Hisbah, warning that both institutions are contributing to the escalating persecution of Christians.
Dr. Ebenezer Obadare, the Senior Fellow for Africa Studies, delivered this compelling testimony during a joint congressional briefing on Tuesday. The session, convened by the House Appropriations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, focused on the security crisis in Nigeria. Dr. Obadare argued that local religious structures are being exploited by extremist groups, thereby cementing a culture of violence and impunity across the region.
He informed the US lawmakers that groups like Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and radicalised Fulani militias are actively “weaponiz[ing] Sharia-based institutions and Hisbah operatives to advance extremist ideology, enforce forced conversions, and operate unchecked in many communities.”
A statement released by the Appropriations Committee summarized Dr. Obadare’s recommended dual-focus strategy for Washington. “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.”
The expert noted that the Nigerian government has shown signs of responsiveness when faced with international pressure. He cited examples such as recent air strikes targeting Boko Haram positions, the recruitment of $30,000$ new police personnel, and President Bola Tinubu’s recent declaration of a national security emergency. “As recent events have shown, the Nigerian authorities are not impervious to incentives,” he said, stressing that “Washington must keep up the pressure.”
The bipartisan session, chaired by Appropriations Vice Chair Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL), featured testimony that included allegations of state complicity in what some lawmakers described as “religious cleansing” in Nigeria’s northern states and the Middle Belt. Witnesses highlighted horrific incidents, including the mass killings and a pattern of blasphemy prosecutions, pointing specifically to the November abduction of pupils and teachers from St Mary’s Catholic School in Niger State.
Dr. Obadare emphasized that the deepest threat facing the nation is “jihadist terror.” He asserted that any credible, long-term solution must prioritize the immediate and radical degradation of Boko Haram’s fighting capability. “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 insisted, according to reports
