Nigerian Presidency Challenges US Over Sharia Law

<p>Nigerian Presidency Challenges US Over Sharia Law<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">OpenLife Nigeria<&sol;a> <&sol;strong>reports that Presidential Adviser on Policy Communication&comma; Daniel Bwala&comma; has dismissed suggestions by some United States lawmakers that Nigeria should abolish Sharia law&comma; insisting that the US has no legal or moral authority to dictate constitutional changes to a sovereign nation&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Speaking on Thursday during an interview on Arise Television&comma; Bwala said any attempt by a foreign country to instruct Nigeria on constitutional matters would amount to an attack on its sovereignty&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;They don’t have the locus&comma;” he said when asked whether the US government had the right to push Nigeria to disband Sharia law in northern states or amend its constitution&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;In doing that&comma; it’ll amount to infringing on the territorial integrity and territorial right of a country&comma;” Bwala added&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The Presidential aide argued that even President Donald Trump’s recent threat of possible military intervention was inconsistent with international norms and the US convention&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>He said&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Even the threat of possible military invasion is not consistent with the US convention&comma; because there are only three conditions upon which another country can invade militarily&period; Either you invited by that country&comma; or you are at war with that country&comma; or the United Nations asks you to be in that country&comma;” he explained&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>He noted that Sharia law&comma; currently operational in 12 northern states&comma; is not a federal policy but a state-level legal framework permitted under Nigeria’s federal structure&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Sharia law is not a national law&period; We also practice federal system of government&comma; although their own is more advanced&comma;” he stated&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>It would be recalled that during a joint congressional briefing on Tuesday&comma; US lawmakers were urged to pressure Nigeria to abolish Sharia law and disband <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;vanguardngr&period;com&sol;">Hisbah religious police<&sol;a>&comma; with experts warning that extremist groups exploit these structures to advance violent persecution of Christians&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Dr&period; Ebenezer Obadare&comma; Senior Fellow for Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations&comma; told lawmakers that Boko Haram&comma; ISWAP and radicalised militia groups &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;weaponise Sharia-based institutions and Hisbah operatives to advance extremist ideology&comma; enforce forced conversions&comma; and operate unchecked in many communities&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>But Bwala stressed that Nigeria’s constitution is not subject to foreign approval&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;We differ with them on this idea of amending our constitution&period; Nigeria is a sovereign state&comma; has never been colonized by America anywhere and we are not Venezuela&comma;” he stated&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;