Former presidential aide Bashir Ahmad has blasted the United States for allegedly trying to push Nigeria into abandoning Sharia law and dissolving Hisbah commissions, calling the move a brazen assault on the nation’s sovereignty.
His outrage followed reports that US lawmakers were urged during a high-level briefing to pressure Nigeria into ending Sharia implementation in northern states and dismantling Hisbah structures.
The briefing, held in response to President Donald Trump’s October directive and Nigeria’s designation as a Country of Particular Concern, claimed Sharia systems were enabling anti-Christian persecution.
At the session, CFR Senior Fellow Dr. Ebenezer Obadare told US lawmakers that extremist groups, Boko Haram, ISWAP and radicalised Fulani militants, were exploiting Sharia frameworks and Hisbah operatives to spread ideology, force conversions and operate with minimal pushback.
Ahmad, reacting on X, said he had hoped to ignore the issue but could not overlook what he described as an outright intrusion into Nigeria’s internal matters.
He declared that the United States had no moral or legal standing to dictate Nigeria’s lifestyle, governance or religious practices, stressing that the country remains fully sovereign with its own constitution and institutions.
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.”
