Ebenezer Obadare, a Douglas Dillon senior fellow for Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), has urged the United States (U.S) lawmakers to pressure the federal government to abolish Sharia law in northern states and disband the religious Hisbah commissions amid concerns over Christian persecution.
During a joint House briefing on Tuesday, December 2, following U.S president Donald Trump’s October directive and Nigeria’s designation as a country of particular concern, Obadare testified before members of the U.S house of representatives that the main drivers of violence, Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and radicalized Fulani militants, exploit Sharia law and Hisbah officials to impose extremist ideology, enforce forced conversions, and operate with near-total impunity.
Obadare laid out a strategy for dealing with the violence and killings.
“The policy goal should be two-fold: first, work with the Nigerian military to neutralize Boko Haram,” Obadare said.
“Second, the United States should put pressure on president Tinubu to (1) make Sharia law unconstitutional in the twelve northern states where they has been adopted since 2000 and (2) disband the various Hisbah groups across northern states seeking to enforce and impose Islamic law on all citizens regardless of their religious identity.”
In laying out his strategy, Obadare acknowledged efforts by the Federal Government in response to pressure from the U.S.
“As recent events have shown, the Nigerian authorities are not impervious to incentives, ”he said.
“Since the country’s Country of Particular Concern (CPC) designation and president Trump’s threat of unilateral military action against Boko Haram, president Tinubu has made several moves, including ordering air strikes against Boko Haram targets, the recruitment of an additional 30,000 policemen, and, most recently, declaring a national security emergency in the country.
“Washington must keep up the pressure.”
The bipartisan session, led by appropriations vice chairman Mario Díaz-Balart and involving the house foreign affairs committee, heard repeated accusations that the Nigerian government is complicit in what lawmakers called religious cleansing across the north and middle belt.
Witnesses cited the November 22 abduction of children and teachers from St Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger state, what they described as ongoing blasphemy-law imprisonments, and mass killings, rejecting claims that the violence stems solely from resource disputes.
Obadare emphasized the roots of the crisis, saying, “The deadliest and most serious threat confronting the Nigerian state today is jihadist terror, perpetrated by the Islamist group Boko Haram.
“Boko Haram translates to ‘Western education is forbidden.’ Boko Haram’s barbarous and implacable campaign to overthrow the Nigerian state and establish an Islamic caliphate in its stead is the source of Nigeria’s present discontents.
“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.”
Chris Smith labelled Nigeria ground zero for global anti-Christian persecution, while Brian Mast demanded the disarmament of militias and prosecution of attackers.
U.S. commission on international religious freedom chairman Vicky Hartzler and alliance defending freedom international’s Sean Nelson detailed recent atrocities and called for Washington to use security-aid leverage, early-warning systems, and targeted sanctions to force accountability.
Lawmakers from both parties signaled support for Díaz-Balart’s FY26 appropriations language addressing the crisis.
They announced that the appropriations committee is drafting a formal report to president Trump with concrete recommendations, including potential conditions on U.S. assistance to Nigeria.
The briefing underscored the Trump administration’s recent redesignation of Nigeria as a country of particular concern.
It reflected growing congressional consensus that reversing Sharia criminal law in the north and dismantling Hisbah forces are essential steps to halt one of the world’s deadliest campaigns against religious minorities.
Trump first designated Nigeria as a CPC in 2020, but it was removed from the list by his successor, president Joe Biden.
However, the US president, on October 31, redesignated Nigeria as a CPC over religious freedom violations.
He thereafter threatened military action in Nigeria if the federal government did not address the challenge.
Trump said the US may halt aid and assistance to Nigeria if nothing is done to stop the alleged Christian persecution.
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