Former presidential aide, Bashir Ahmad, has criticised calls from the United States for Nigeria to abolish Sharia law and disband Hisbah commissions, describing the move as an attempt to interfere in the country’s internal matters.
He issued the reaction on Wednesday after a report emerged that US lawmakers were urged on Tuesday to pressure the Nigerian government to end the implementation of Sharia law in northern states and to dissolve Hisbah bodies.
According to the report, experts warned that these systems were contributing to patterns of anti-Christian persecution.
The appeal was made during a joint House briefing held in response to United States President Donald Trump’s October directive and the subsequent designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern.
At the briefing, Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow, Dr. Ebenezer Obadare, said violent groups such as Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and radicalised Fulani militants were exploiting Sharia structures and Hisbah officials to push extremist ideology, enforce forced conversions, and operate with minimal resistance.
Reacting to the development in a post on X, Ahmad said he did not wish to continue engaging the topic but considered the development as a clear intrusion into Nigeria’s internal affairs.
He stressed that the United States had no authority to determine how Nigerians should live, govern themselves, or practise their faith, noting that Nigeria is a sovereign country with its own constitutional and institutional frameworks.
He tweeted, “In as much as I don’t want to continue talking about this, but I must say this what a blatant intrusion into our internal affairs! The United States has absolutely no right to dictate to us how we should live, govern ourselves or practice our faith as Nigeria is a sovereign nation with our own Constitution, democratic institutions, cultural values and legal frameworks.”
Call for ban on Shariah law: US has no right to dictate to us — Bashir Ahmad
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