Ebenezer Obadare, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, has urged the US Congress to pressure Nigeria into making Sharia law unconstitutional in the 12 northern states where it’s been adopted since 2000.
Obadare testified at a Washington roundtable discussing Nigeria’s escalating insecurity and alleged persecution of Christians, with lawmakers accusing the Nigerian government of dragging its feet.
He pinpointed Boko Haram as the root cause of the violence, saying their “barbarous campaign” to establish an Islamic caliphate is driving Nigeria’s crisis.
Obadare suggested a two-pranged approach: collaborate with Nigeria’s military to neutralize Boko Haram and pressure President Tinubu to scrap Sharia law and disband the Hisbah, a Muslim religious police force reportedly targeting Christians.
Obadare noted Nigeria’s recent moves—air strikes on Boko Haram, recruiting 30,000 more police, and declaring a security emergency—as responses to US pressure, including the Country of Particular Concern (CPC) designation.
“Washington must keep up the pressure,” he emphasized.