A senior Africa analyst has urged the United States to push Nigeria to make Sharia law unconstitutional and to dismantle the Hisbah religious police, arguing that such steps could help address rising insecurity and alleged persecution of Christians in the country.
Ebenezer Obadare, a Douglas Dillon Senior Fellow for Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), made the remarks in Washington during a roundtable convened by US lawmakers to examine the worsening security situation in Nigeria.
US legislators at the hearing alleged that Christian communities in parts of Nigeria were facing what they described as “a targeted campaign of religious cleansing”. They accused the Nigerian government of failing to act decisively and warned that the US would “move quickly” to save lives.
Speaking as an expert witness, Obadare said Boko Haram’s long-standing campaign to establish an Islamic caliphate remained at the centre of the country’s instability.
“Boko Haram’s barbarous and unyielding attempt to overthrow the Nigerian state is the foundation of the present crisis,” he told lawmakers. “Any solution that does not prioritise weakening and ultimately eliminating the group is unrealistic.”
He argued that sustained pressure from the US had previously influenced Nigeria’s security decisions. He cited President Bola Tinubu’s recent actions, including authorising airstrikes against Boko Haram, recruiting 30,000 new police officers, and declaring a national security emergency as signs that Abuja responds to international incentives.
Obadare urged Washington to intensify its approach, calling for collaboration with Nigeria’s military to neutralise Boko Haram and diplomatic pressure on the Nigerian government to outlaw Sharia as a governing legal system in the 12 northern states where it applies.
He also recommended dismantling Hisbah groups, which operate as Islamic moral police in several northern states. Their mandate includes enforcing Sharia-based codes of conduct among Muslims.
While Sharia law does not apply to Christians, concerns have grown among Christian leaders about its enforcement. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria recently reported receiving complaints alleging discriminatory actions by Hisbah against Christians.
Sharia has been used as civil and criminal law in many Muslim-majority northern states since 1999. The Nigerian government has not publicly responded to the latest recommendations raised in Washington.