US lawmakers on Tuesday called for increased pressure on the Nigerian government to abolish Sharia law in the northern states where it is enforced and to disband the Hisbah religious policing groups. Experts warned that these institutions continue to facilitate systematic persecution of Christians and other minority communities.
Speaking at a joint House briefing following President Donald Trump’s directive and Nigeria’s designation as a Country of Particular Concern, Dr. Ebenezer Obadare of the Council on Foreign Relations said extremist groups—including Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and radicalised Fulani militias—exploit Sharia frameworks and Hisbah operatives to promote extremist ideology, enforce religious conversions, and carry out attacks with minimal resistance.
Obadare outlined a two-pronged strategy for the United States: working with the Nigerian military to combat Boko Haram while pressing President Bola Tinubu to declare Sharia unconstitutional in the twelve northern states that adopted it in 2000 and to dissolve Hisbah groups operating across the region.
He noted that external pressure has yielded results. Since Nigeria’s CPC designation and Trump’s warning of potential unilateral action against Boko Haram, Tinubu has authorised airstrikes on insurgent positions, approved the recruitment of 30,000 additional police officers, and declared a national security emergency.
Despite these actions, Obadare stressed they are not enough and that sustained US engagement is essential.
The bipartisan session, led by Appropriations Vice Chair Mario Díaz-Balart and attended by members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, emphasised that the Nigerian government has largely failed to address what lawmakers described as religious cleansing across the north and Middle Belt. Incidents cited included the November 22 kidnapping of pupils and teachers from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State, prosecutions under blasphemy laws, and repeated mass killings, with witnesses rejecting claims that the crisis is solely driven by land and resource disputes.
Obadare argued that the core issue remains unchecked jihadist violence, with Boko Haram’s efforts to dismantle the Nigerian state and impose an Islamic order continuing to threaten national stability. He concluded that defeating the insurgent groups must be the primary focus of any effective solution.
