Presidential Adviser on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has firmly rejected calls by some United States lawmakers for Nigeria to abolish Sharia law, insisting that no foreign government has the authority to dictate constitutional changes to a sovereign nation.
Speaking on Thursday during an interview on Arise Television, Bwala said the U.S. had “no locus” to advise Nigeria on whether to disband Sharia law in northern states or modify its constitution. Such interference, he argued, would amount to an assault on Nigeria’s territorial integrity.
“In doing that, it’ll amount to infringing on the territorial integrity and territorial right of a country,” he said.
Bwala also criticised former U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent suggestion of possible American military intervention in Nigeria, describing it as inconsistent with international law and U.S. convention.
“Even the threat of possible military invasion is not consistent with the U.S. convention,” he said. “There are only three conditions under which another country can invade militarily: either you’re invited, you’re at war with that country, or the United Nations authorises it.”
The presidential aide clarified that Sharia law, currently practised in 12 northern states, is not a federal policy but a state-level legal framework allowed under Nigeria’s federal system.
“Sharia law is not a national law. We also practise a federal system of government, although their own is more advanced,” he added.
Calls for the U.S. to pressure Nigeria into scrapping Sharia surfaced during a joint congressional briefing on Tuesday, where experts warned that extremist groups exploit Sharia-based institutions and Hisbah religious police to persecute Christians and entrench radical ideology.
Dr. Ebenezer Obadare, Senior Fellow for Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, told lawmakers that Boko Haram, ISWAP and other radical groups “weaponise Sharia-based institutions and Hisbah operatives to advance extremist ideology, enforce forced conversions, and operate unchecked in many communities.”
But Bwala maintained that Nigeria’s constitution—Sharia provisions included—remains the sole business of Nigerians.
“We differ with them on this idea of amending our constitution. Nigeria is a sovereign state, has never been colonised by America anywhere, and we are not Venezuela,” he said.
