Nigerian Presidency Challenges US Over Sharia Law

Nigerian Presidency Challenges US Over Sharia Law

OpenLife Nigeria reports that Presidential Adviser on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has dismissed suggestions by some United States lawmakers that Nigeria should abolish Sharia law, insisting that the US has no legal or moral authority to dictate constitutional changes to a sovereign nation.

Speaking on Thursday during an interview on Arise Television, Bwala said any attempt by a foreign country to instruct Nigeria on constitutional matters would amount to an attack on its sovereignty.

“They don’t have the locus,” 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.

“In doing that, it’ll amount to infringing on the territorial integrity and territorial right of a country,” Bwala added.

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.

He said, “Even the threat of possible military invasion is not consistent with the US convention, because there are only three conditions upon which another country can invade militarily. Either you invited by that country, or you are at war with that country, or the United Nations asks you to be in that country,” he explained.

He noted that Sharia law, currently operational in 12 northern states, is not a federal policy but a state-level legal framework permitted under Nigeria’s federal structure.
“Sharia law is not a national law. We also practice federal system of government, although their own is more advanced,” he stated.

It would be recalled that during a joint congressional briefing on Tuesday, US lawmakers were urged to pressure Nigeria to abolish Sharia law and disband Hisbah religious police, with experts warning that extremist groups exploit these structures to advance violent persecution of Christians.

Dr. Ebenezer Obadare, Senior Fellow for Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, told lawmakers that Boko Haram, ISWAP and radicalised militia groups “weaponise Sharia-based institutions and Hisbah operatives to advance extremist ideology, enforce forced conversions, and operate unchecked in many communities.”

But Bwala stressed that Nigeria’s constitution is not subject to foreign approval.
“We differ with them on this idea of amending our constitution. Nigeria is a sovereign state, has never been colonized by America anywhere and we are not Venezuela,” he stated.